On Sraffa’s Contribution to Economic Theory

The place and relevance of Sraffa’s contribution in contemporary economic theory can be identified in three elements of his work: the rediscovery of the theoretical approach of the classical economists; the solution of analytical difficulties not overcome by Ricardo and Marx; and the critique of marginal theory. For the first element, the references are Sraffa’s edition of Ricardo and his later Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, the book in which the second and third elements are also found. The article then addresses the question of the relationship between Sraffa’s work and that of Marx, particularly with regard to the labour theory of value, arguing that Sraffa’s correct solution represents an analytical development, rather than a critique, of Marx’s theoretical framework.