The dialectics of differentiation: Marx's mathematical manuscripts and their relation to his economics

Peter Matthews

Review of Social Economy, 2021, vol. 79, issue 1, 25-50

Abstract: The notion that Marx neither understood nor advocated the use of mathematics is a persistent one. His interest in both commercial and abstract mathematics spanned more than two decades, however, and culminated in two ‘contributions’ to the foundations of the calculus: ‘On the Concept of the Derived Function’ (1881) and ‘On the Concept of the Differential’ (1881). A detailed examination of these and other technical notebooks suggests that Marx's economics both motivated and informed his studies in mathematics and that these, in turn, influenced his understanding of economic phenomena.

Date: 2021
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Working Paper: The Dialectics of Differentiation: Marx's Mathematical Manuscripts and Their Relation to His Economics (2002)
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DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2019.1664758

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