Physicalism and the Exploitation Theory of Profit are Incompatible: A Response to Robert Paul Wolff

by Chris Byron, Alan Freeman, and Andrew Kliman

“The Sraffian-influenced philosopher Robert Paul Wolff published a blog piece on May 4 in which he claimed that, if one wishes to show that ‘capital rests on the exploitation of the working class,’ it is possible (and necessary) to do so without Marx’s own exploitation theory of profit. Noting that he has ‘written a whole book and a serious mathematical article about this subject,’ Wolff says that ‘I am unaware of anyone who has actually answered my critique and analysis [except John Roemer …].’

“What follows is that answer.”

Click the link below to read the complete response:

Response to Robert Paul Wolff, f, 5.9.14 (downloadable PDF)