Comrades Do Not Always Agree: How to Promote Cooperation between the Followers of Marx and Sraffa?

Abstract

In this note I propose two different levels of analysis for organizing the conversation around the Sraffa/Marx polemic. First, the “pragmatic approach” takes into account the immediate circumstances prevailing in the teaching of economics. In particular, we must understand that there is a systematic denial of Marxism in most economic departments, which are dominated by the mainstream neoclassical school, Keynesian thought, and various minor heterodox currents. Second, the “in-depth approach” leaves aside these circumstances and investigates the frontiers of socialist and radical political economics regardless of how well versed in Marxist theory a typical economist may be. Both levels are necessary, but we need to distinguish clearly so that we know when it is most useful to focus on one or the other.

JEL Classification: B24, B51