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Everything about Surplus value

Concept in economics

In Marxian economics, surplus value is the difference between the amount raised through a sale of a product and the amount it cost to manufacture it: i.e. the amount raised through sale of the product minus the cost of the materials, plant and labour power. The concept originated in Ricardian socialism, with the term "surplus value" itself being coined by William Thompson in 1824; however, it was not consistently distinguished from the related concepts of surplus labour and surplus product. The concept was subsequently developed and popularised by Karl Marx. Marx's formulation is the standard sense and the primary basis for further developments, though how much of Marx's concept is original and distinct from the Ricardian concept is disputed. Marx's term is the German word "Mehrwert", which simply means value added, and is cognate to English "more worth". Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Surplus valueA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Bread Surplus: A Cumulative Waste or a Staple Material for High-Value Products?Influential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: Theorien über den MehrwertThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Positive Profits with Negative Surplus ValueCited 63 times
  5. Go sideways: Value productA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: Marxian economicsA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun The part of the new value made by production that is taken by enterprises as generic gross profit.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Origin
  2. Theory
  3. Definition
  4. Interpretations
  5. Equalisation of rates
  6. Appropriation from production
  7. Absolute vs. relative
  8. Production versus realisation
  9. Relation to taxation
  10. Relation to the circuits of capital
  11. Measurement
  12. Different conceptions

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics