Thermodynamic depth and social surplus

Clair Quentin

Chapter 3 in Capital, Revenue and the Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics of Value, 2026, pp 38-50 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter sets out Marx's social model of value and characterizes that social model's difference from a substantialist model (such as the one set out in Chapter 2) as a matter of quantitative divergence rather than conceptual immiscibility. The quantitative divergence is shown to be referable to technological advances. It goes on to develop the model of surplus thermodynamic depth from Chapter 2, incorporating technological advances into the model. It is shown that the per-worker rate of production of thermodynamic depth (‘ergomochleusis’) has a tendency to increase exponentially under the capitalist mode of production, suggesting that countervailing tendencies are also in operation. A composite social/substance model of value is proposed whereby value takes the form of both thermodynamic depth and abstract labor as mediated by the ergomochleusis variable.

Keywords: Value Theory; Thermodynamic Depth; Concrete Labor; Abstract Labor; Surplus Value; Substantialism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035359998
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