Distribuzione del reddito e saggio del profitto in Marx e negli economisti classici: uno studio comparato

The paper argues that the concern to determine the rate of profit, attributed to the classics by modern surplus approach, was not the main focus in most classical authors before Ricardo. Moreover, this theme did not have a central place in Marx’s analysis at all. In fact, according to Marx, a uniform rate of profit was only one way to determine the distribution of surplus value among the owners of capital in proportion to the capital invested. On the contrary, the distribution of income between capitalists and workers was strictly determined by the rate of surplus value. Moreover, Marx used his own version of the labour theory of value – very different from that of Smith and Ricardo – not to determine the rate of profit and production prices, but to analyse the dynamics of economic aggregates and bring to light the inner social nature of production and distribution processes. In this context, Marx’s rate of profit was only an aggregate measure of the maximum potential growth rate.