This book looks at the value and distribution debates on the theories of Adam Smith. A variety of the aspects of his work are covered in this book such as his labour command measure, as are a number of interpretations and criticisms.
Part 1: contemporary interpretations of Smith; the approach to interpretation; outline of the argument. Part 2 Theories of value and distribution: classical or surplus theory; neoclassical theory; analytical themes in the study of Smith. Part 3 Surplus: surplus and accumulation; "annual produce" in the "Wealth of Nations"; gross and net revenue; a surplus "theory" of the non-wage share? Part 4 Competition: natural price and the uniform rate of profit; features of Smithian competition; competition and equilibrium of supply and demand; the concept of a capitalist economic system. Part 5 The measure of value: Smith's labour command measure; Smith's key assumptions; the operation of the measure; contrast with existing interpretations; further evidence of Smith's intentions. Part 6 Value and distribution: the "component parts of price"; distribution; assessment; taxes; the corn export bounty; observations on actual price changes; Appendix - Absence of reduction of means of production to labour in Smith's work. Part 7 Ricardo's development of Smith's theory: the new theory of profits; assumptions and their consequences; the relation of wage changes to prices; value and riches; supply and demand. Part 8 Marx on Smith: Marx's "two streams" proposition?; Smith as a surplus theorist; the labour theory of value; labour command; the resolution of price into wages, profit and rent; assessment. Part 9 Smith as "general equilibrium" theorist: Hollander's argument in outline; a "supply and demand" explanation of value; distribution; "formal analysis" and "practical applications"; a theorist of resource allocation determined by factor endowments. Part 10 Smith as "cost of production" theorist: "cost of production interpretations; Dobb's "two streams" proposition; Ricardo's criticism of Smith's theory; the "cost of production tradition"; Smith's contribution to surplus theory; Dobb and Schumpeter - a clarification. Part 11 Smith and the surplus theory; Smith and the neoclassical theory.
