Question

1)Though they used a smilar methodology and based themselves on labour theory of values, Ricardo became a prophet of capitalism of his age, while Marx defended socialism. How?

2)In Fisher’s table, atoms in mechanics corresponds to individuals in economics. Is this ‘physics envy’ enough to make economics an exact science?

Answer 1

1)

                                    Ricardo and Marx were two eminent personalities who have made comments on the labour theory of value. According to the labour theory of value put forward by Ricardo, he states that the value of a good is proportional to how much labour was required to produce it, including the labour required to produce the raw materials and the machinery. Thus, according to Ricardo, the value of the commodity depends on the quantity of labour which contributes to its production. It is in contrast to the subjective theory of value which states that the value of a good is determined by the usefulness in satisfying a want and the scarcity. Marx, on the other hand focus on the necessity of the society in determining the labour value and stated that ‘social necessity’ remained a major factor in the determination of the value of production. He used this concept to criticize the capitalists as he argued that the capitalist class used the surplus value of labour ad profits for them and there was an unequal distribution of benefits to the workers.

                                    Thus, according to Ricardo, the whole effort put forward by the labour is taken in to consideration while determining the price of a commodity in a market and hence supports the concept of capitalist class that the value of labour is being taken in to consideration. But, Marx states that the surplus value of the labourer is being considered as profits and is not shared among the workers. Thus, Marxian theory of value is a strong critic of capitalism and Ricardo’s theory supports the capitalistic attitude towards labour.

2)

                                    It is given that in accordance with the Fischer’s table, the atoms in mechanics corresponds to the individuals in an economy. The following similarities may be drawn from the given case to support this ‘physics envy’ that makes economics a science

· The atoms are the basic elements of mechanics just as an individual forms the basic component of an economy

· Many atoms combine together to form the structure just like many individuals combine to form the society in an economy

· The characteristic of atoms makes the differences in mechanics just similar to the characteristics of an individual that determines the overall behaviour of a society

· The overall sustenance and quality of items depends on each atoms and its bonding just as the bonds between individuals of a society is essential for the sustenance of an economy

                                 Thus, we can see that there are lot of similarities between an atom and an individual in the behaviour of both respectively in mechanics and economy. Thus, we can say that economics represents a science that studies the relation between the individual characteristic and behavioural patterns and thus decides how the economy would be.