ABSTRACT
Problems associated with pricing have plagued Marxian economic theory since the critiques of Marx’s theory commenced soon after the publication of the third volume of Capital in 1894. The problem of explaining prices in Marxian economics relates to the question of methodology. The distinction between essence and appearance is significant since, traditionally, Marxists claim that while prices are what we observe in the course of exchange, underlying these are values which somehow determine these prices. Moreover profit is determined, in part, by the rate of surplus-value.1 In order to focus discussion we shall outline the basic problem before discussing a number of proposed solutions. In particular, it is suggested here that value theory is not useful as a theory of price in capitalist economies, but it captureswhatMarxists regard as exploitation. In this sense a labour theory of exchange value is rejected, while a labour theory of exploitation is retained.
