What Kind of Theory is Marx's Labour Theory of Value? A Critical Realist Inquiry

This paper uses critical realism to reflect upon the issue of theory in Marx's Labour Theory of Value (LTV). Like any theory, the LTV is rooted in a mode of theorisation. Rooting the LTV in an inappropriate (deductivist) mode of theorisation encourages the formulation of (quantitative) versions of the LTV that (a) have severe problems and (b) lack explanatory power. Conversely, rooting the LTV in an appropriate (causal-explanatory) mode encourages the formulation of (qualitative) versions of the LTV that (a) lack such problems and (b) have explanatory power. © 2001, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved