On Surplus Value as the Main Factor of Social Development

Abstract

The article demonstrates that the surplus value is the means of capital accumulation but not the result of labour exploitation. The two problems: the problem of surplus value production and that of surplus value allocation are also separated. It is shown as well that the amount of surplus value does not depend on who it is allocated to, what way and what amount. The possibility of getting it and its amount depend on the technology advance and the organization of production process, while the latter depends on the advance of the production forces. Only the allocation of surplus value can be viewed from some class perspective but not the surplus value per se. The author proposes the surplus value and the norm of capital accumulation to be used as the major macroeconomic indices, and provides the formulae for calculating surplus value and norm of capital accumulation in micro- and macroscales.