Dans les services monétaires non marchands, le travail est productif de valeur

Abstract

The twentieth century witnessed the rise of a public service sector with the peculiarity of being free of charge, insofar as the relevant activities’ production costs have been socialised. The services involved (starting with public education or healthcare) could be evaluated in pecuniary terms - but given their socialisation, they are actually non-commercial in nature. The challenge here is determining the origins of their economic value. The present contribution suggests that this derives from the actual work being done, and that rather than detracting from the value produced by an economy’s commercial sector, such public work value actually enhances it. By applying Marx's social validation construct, it is also demonstrated that it is collective decision-making which validates this work. Discussion then ensues regarding how this approach differs from both neo-liberal and traditional Marxist conceptions.

Keywords

• money
• non-commercial
• labour
• value
• social validation