Journals / Ekonomi Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 18 Sayı: 2

Piero Sraffa’s Radical Approach to the Foundations of Neoclassical Economic Theory: A Critique of Marginal Productivity Theory

PIERO SRAFFA’NIN NEOKLASİK İKTİSAT TEORİSİNİN TEMELLERİNE YÖNELİK RADİKAL YAKLAŞIMI: MARJİNAL VERİMLİLİK TEORİSİNİN ELEŞTİRİSİ

Feti Ahmet Gülen(YILDIZ TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0009-0002-3059-5749
Sema Yılmaz(YILDIZ TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-3138-1622
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-06-18
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In this context, the study reveals that Sraffa's critiques remain valid today in the face of increasing income inequality, financial crises, and environmental problems.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Piero Sraffa is one of the most influential and controversial thinkers in 20th-century economic theory.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Sraffa's 1960 work, The Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities: A Critique of Economic Theory, offers a radical alternative to Neoclassical economics' theories of capital, income distribution, and value.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:In this context, the study reveals that Sraffa's critiques remain valid today in the face of increasing income inequality, financial crises, and environmental problems.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Piero Sraffa · Marjinal Verimlilik Teorisi · Sermaye Teorisi

Abstract

Piero Sraffa is one of the most influential and controversial thinkers in 20th-century economic theory. Throughout his academic career at Cambridge University, the Italian-born economist left a deep mark on the field of economics, both with his critiques that shook the foundations of Neoclassical Theory and with his development of an alternative theory of value and distribution. This study analyzes Piero Sraffa's fundamental criticisms of marginal productivity theory. Sraffa's 1960 work, The Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities: A Critique of Economic Theory, offers a radical alternative to Neoclassical economics' theories of capital, income distribution, and value. The study demonstrates that the phenomena of reswitching and reversal in capital theory invalidate neoclassical assumptions; it also emphasizes that income distribution is shaped within the context of political and social power relations. Sraffa's methodological approach questions the epistemological foundations of economic theory by focusing on the production process and class relations, as opposed to marginal utility-based analyses. In this context, the study reveals that Sraffa's critiques remain valid today in the face of increasing income inequality, financial crises, and environmental problems.

Özet

Piero Sraffa, 20.yüzyıl iktisat teorisinin en etkili ve tartışmalı düşünürlerinden biridir. İtalyan kökenli iktisatçı, Cambridge Üniversitesi’ndeki akademik kariyeri boyunca hem Neoklasik Teori’nin temellerini sarsan eleştirileriyle hem de alternatif bir değer ve dağıtım teorisi geliştirmesiyle iktisat biliminde derin izler bırakır. Bu çalışma, Piero Sraffa’nın marjinal verimlilik teorisine yönelttiği temel eleştirileri analiz eder. Sraffa’nın 1960 tarihli Malların Mallarla Üretimi: İktisat Kuramını Eleştiriye Açış adlı eseri, Neoklasik iktisadın sermaye, gelir dağılımı ve değer teorilerine yönelik radikal bir alternatif sunar. Çalışma, sermaye teorisindeki yeniden anahtarlama (reswitching) ve sermayenin tersine dönme olgularının neoklasik varsayımları geçersiz kıldığını gösterir; ayrıca gelir dağılımının politik ve sosyal güç ilişkileri bağlamında şekillendiğini vurgular. Sraffa’nın metodolojik yaklaşımı, marjinal fayda temelli analizlere karşı üretim sürecine ve sınıf ilişkilerine odaklanarak, iktisadi teorinin epistemolojik temellerini sorgular. Bu çerçevede, çalışma Sraffa’nın eleştirilerinin günümüzde artan gelir eşitsizliği, finansal krizler ve çevresel sorunlar karşısında halen geçerliliğini koruduğunu ortaya koyar.

🔖

Cite This Article

Gülen, F. A., Yılmaz, S. (2026). Piero Sraffa’s Radical Approach to the Foundations of Neoclassical Economic Theory: A Critique of Marginal Productivity Theory. Ekonomi Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 18 Sayı: 2. https://doi.org/10.55827/ebd.1798726

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (30)

  1. Bharadwaj, K. (1978). Classical political economy and rise to dominance of supply and demand theories. Universities Press.
  2. Bharadwaj, K. (1986). Classical political economy and modern economic theory: Some lessons from recent debates. In Foundations of Economics (pp. 113-132). Basil Blackwell. Bliss, C. J. (1975). Capital theory and the distribution of income. North-Holland.
  3. Cohen, A. J., & Harcourt, G. C. (2003). Retrospectives: Whatever happened to the Cambridge capital theory controversies? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(1), 199-214.
  4. Dobb, M. (1973). Theories of value and distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and economic theory. Cambridge University Press.
  5. Garegnani, P. (1970). Heterogeneous capital, the production function and the theory of distribution. The Review of Economic Studies, 37(3), 407-436.
  6. Garegnani, P. (1984). Value and distribution in the classical economists and Marx. Oxford Economic Papers, 36(2), 291-325.
  7. Gehrke, C., & Salvadori, N. (2011). Keynes, Sraffa, and the criticism of neoclassical theory: Essays in honour of Heinz Kurz. Routledge.
  8. Harcourt, G. C. (1972). Some Cambridge controversies in the theory of capital. Cambridge University Press.
  9. Hunt, E. K. (1979). The categories of productive and unproductive labor in Marxist economic theory. Science & Society, 43(3), 303-325.
  10. Kurz, H. D. (1990). Capital, distribution and effective demand: Studies in the 'classical' approach. Polity Press. Kurz, H. D. (2000). Critical essays on Piero Sraffa's legacy in economics. Cambridge University Press.
  11. Lavoie, M. (2014). Post-Keynesian economics: New foundations. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  12. Lawson, T. (1997). Economics and Reality. Routledge.
  13. Lee, F. S. (2009). A history of heterodox economics: Challenging the mainstream in the twentieth century. Routledge.
  14. Levhari, D., & Samuelson, P. A. (1966). The nonswitching theorem is false. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80(4), 518-519. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882668
  15. Marshall, A. (1890). Principles of Economics. Macmillan.
  16. Marshall, A. (1920). Principles of economics (8th ed.). Macmillan.
  17. Pasinetti, L. L. (1966). Changes in the rate of profit and switches of techniques. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80(4), 503-517.
  18. Pasinetti, L. L. (2007). Keynes and the Cambridge Keynesians: A 'revolution in economics' to be accomplished. Cambridge University Press.
  19. Petri, F. (2004). General equilibrium, capital and macroeconomics: A key to recent controversies in equilibrium theory. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  20. Robinson, J. (1953-54). The production function and the theory of capital. The Review of Economic Studies, 21(2), 81-106. https://doi.org/10.2307/2296002
  21. Roncaglia, A. (1978). Sraffa and the theory of prices. John Wiley & Sons.
  22. Roncaglia, A. (2009). Piero Sraffa. Palgrave Macmillan.
  23. Samuelson, P. A. (1966). A summing up. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80(4), 568-583. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882692
  24. Spaventa, L. (1970). Rate of profit, rate of growth, and capital intensity in a simple production model. Oxford Economic Papers, 22(2), 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.oep.a041154
  25. Sraffa, P. (1922). The bank crisis in Italy. The Economic Journal, 32(126), 178–197.
  26. Sraffa, P. (1926). The laws of returns under competitive conditions. The Economic Journal, 36(144), 535–550.
  27. Sraffa, P. (1930). A Criticism of Prof. Pigou's 'Study in Public Finance'. Economic Journal.
  28. Sraffa, P. (1960). Production of commodities by means of commodities: Prelude to a critique of economic theory. Cambridge University Press.
  29. Steedman, I. (1977). Marx after Sraffa. New Left Books.
  30. Stiglitz, J. E. (1974). The Cambridge–Cambridge Controversy in the Theory of Capital: A View from New Haven. Journal of Political Economy.