Marxist Political Economy

Jeanne McGuire presents an introduction to Marxist political economy. The presentation was for the Summer 2020 New Members’ School organized by the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) on July 26, 2020. The presentation notes created by Jeanne McGuire are as follows: Notes on Political Economy Commodities: To be a commodity a thing must have: Use value – the ability to satisfy some human want or need. Exchange value – the amount of socially necessary labour power embodied in it. When you see the term “value” in Marxist literature, it almost always refers to exchange value. With the advent of capitalist production, for the first time in history, labour power becomes a commodity. Its use value is its ability to create a surplus, and like every other commodity, its exchange value is the amount of socially necessary labour power embodied in it. Exploitation – the private appropriation of someone else’s surplus. Class – a group of people sharing