This influential collection of essays focuses on the elusive concept of "value," and aims to answer the question "Why is Marx's theory of value so important?" Aboo Aumeeruddy and Ramon Tortajada introduce the key interpretive debates surrounding "value form," leading to seminal essays by Jairus Banaji and Chris Arthur. The labour theory of value is interrogated by Geoffrey Kay and Athar Hussain, and Diane Elson concludes with an argument for the importance of Marx's "Value Theory of Labour." These incisive and erudite texts provide a crucial introduction to Marxist political economy, as well as advancing critical arguments for those already well versed in the field.

Elson has recently collected together a set of interesting essays (and added an extraordinarily penetrating piece of her own) that explore the revolutionary aspects to Marx's theory in terms of the unity of rigorous science and politics. I have great sympathy with these arguments and view my own work as an explanatory essay along the lines that Elson has begun to define. -- Sylvia Chant
Elson has recently collected together a set of interesting essays (and added an extraordinarily penetrating piece of her own) that explore the revolutionary aspects to Marx's theory in terms of the unity of rigorous science and politics. I have great sympathy with these arguments and view my own work as an explanatory essay along the lines that Elson have begun to define. -- David Harvey, The Limits to Capital

Diane Elson is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex. She writes on Marxist theory, development and human rights. Recently she has made vital contributions to the discourse on economic and social rights and gender inequality.