The Question of Profits

Robin Hahnel

Review of Radical Political Economics, 2019, vol. 51, issue 1, 129-146

Abstract: Where do profits come from? Are they morally justified? Sraffians provide a clear answer to the first question but have declined to give a direct answer to the second question. This article argues that the “fundamental Sraffian theorem†implies a compelling moral critique of profits, but that this critique can be strengthened by replacing the “contribution-based†approach common among economists with a “sacrifice-based†theory consistent with work by modern egalitarian philosophers. JEL Classification: B51, D33, D63

Keywords: Sraffa; distributive justice; surplus; profits; effort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:51:y:2019:i:1:p:129-146

DOI: 10.1177/0486613417709032

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