EQUILIBRIUM AND DYNAMICS IN MARX AND THE CLASSICS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The paper discusses the possible presence and role of the concept of equilibrium in the formulations of the ‘classical economists’ and Marx, also examining the characteristics of the ‘long-period positions’ attributed to these authors. The paper argues that the ‘classical economists’ and Marx only considered all real economic phenomena as momentary results of an unstoppable historical and dynamic process, characterised by continuous conflicts and recompositions. In this context, so-called long-period positions could play a role in determining the dynamics of adjustment without ever being the point of arrival or stasis. This means that, for these authors, long-period positions could be drivers of the gravitation of economic variables, but not necessarily final resting points. It is also argued that the concern to determine the long-period positions of the prices of production did not have a central place in Marx’s analysis.