Continuity and rupture in the political economy or quantity and quality in value theory

In this paper, continuity and rupture between the classical political economy and Capital is shown. The author defends the idea that Marx's critique covers both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the classical theory of value. While quantitative analysis corresponds to a constructive critique and to the line of continuity, the qualitative aspect of value represents the rupture and the critique of political economy in its narrower sense, which leads economic science to historical materialism. It is proposed that the controversies surrounding Marx and the classical economists should be solved by raising two basic questions on value theory that help to capture Marx's effect on the classical political economy.

Political economy; Critique of political economy; Labor theory of value; Dialectics; Marx