O Estranho Caso dos Preços que Querem Desvincular-se do Valor: Contributo para Uma Teoria Marxista da Inflação

Abstract

Permanent inflation is a reality confined to the post-World War II period. In this article it will be argued that Marx’s theory is indispensable for the accounting of inflation characteristic of contemporary economies. Market phenomena are incapable of changing the magnitude of value predetermined in the sphere of production, but they can cause variations in market prices. Marxist theory of inflation explains it as a monetary phenomenon which takes place in the sphere of circulation and that it is marked by a gap between market prices and the underlying value relations. There are three fundamental Marxist theories that explain this gap substantiated in the general rise in prices: i) the monopoly capital theory; ii) the excess supply of money as medium of circulation theory; ii) the distributive conflict theory.