Outline of the New Capital

Author: Ma Qingquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: "Outline of the New Capital Theory" explores the development of the labor theory of value under the knowledge economy in a unique style, holding significant value for the discipline of theoretical economics. In the 1980s, human society entered the knowledge economy era in the sense of world history, where the essence of this era lies in the application of knowledge products in the direct production process becoming a characteristic phenomenon. It also lies in knowledge, due to its surpassing importance in economic growth, being recognized as an independent factor of production, alongside labor and capital, and becoming a fundamental category of political economy. The basic argument of this book is that the labor creating knowledge products does not contribute value based on the direct expenditure of general human labor, but rather equals the amount of social labor that can be released through the direct or indirect application of the knowledge product in the social production process. In other words, it equals the amount of general human labor spent on producing a certain material product before the knowledge product was created, minus the labor required to produce the same quantity of homogeneous products after its application, which is the amount of social labor saved by the application of the knowledge product. Put simply, the value created by labor in producing material products equals the value it directly adds to the total social labor, which in turn equals the amount of socially necessary labor time it liberates in the total social labor. The knowledge-based economy is a rational and harmonious society; in such a society, there exist three categories of production factors—knowledge, labor, and capital—as well as the corresponding three basic social classes. Starting from the theory of the value of knowledge products, this book conducts a political economic analysis of various incomes and their sources in the knowledge economy, defines the reasonable boundaries of the ownership claims of the owners of each production factor on the surplus product, and describes a new microeconomic organizational structure for the knowledge-based economy. The author hopes that the main content of this book will serve as a valuable exploration for developing Marx's labor theory of value and researching future socio-economic theories.