THE "HEART AND SOUL" OF MARX'S CRITIQUE OF CAPITALISM: EXPLOITATION OR SOCIAL FORM - OR BOTH? A REPLY TO MURRAY

Murray criticizes Dussel for being similar to what he calls “Ricardian Marxism”, in that he emphasizes Marx’s theory of surplus-value, which concludes that surplus-value is produced by the surplus labor of workers, and thus that workers are exploit ed in capitalism. According to Murray: “The hallmark of Ricardian Marxism is that it takes the theory of surplus-value to be the heart and soul of Marx’s critique of capitalism.” (emphasis added) Marx’s theory of exploitation is the basis for Dussel’s ethical critique of capitalism. Murray suggests that the problem with such an emphasis on the theory of surplus-value and exploitation is that it implies that “human emancipation can be achieved ... by eliminating surplus-value,” or through a “fancied redistribution of surplus-value,” without necessarily eliminating value production.