The Evolution of the Concept of Value and its Historical Ground: From Marx's Dialogue with Aristotle

Marx’s dialogue with Aristotle on the concept of value in the third section on the value-form in the first chapter of Capital presents us with both attractive and puzzling theoretical points. This article begins with a reexamination of the significance of the dialogue, so as to clarify Marx’s originality in dualizing the concept of value into the forms and the substance of value. Then, Kozo Uno’s theoretical intervention on Marx’s dialogue with Aristotle is introduced. The dialogue is thus converted into a three-cornered talk among three giant theoreticians. Brilliant debates among Aristotle, Marx and Uno would lead us to reconsider the evolution of the concept of value and its historical ground. This issue is surely related with the problem of how to understand the historically specific nature of market economy and capitalist economy. It would also inspire anew a methodological relationship between historical materialism and the basic theories of Marxian political economy.