Commodity production and price formation before capitalism: A value theoretic approach

This article uses a historically‐specific approach to simple commodity production in order to analyse its functioning in precapitalist conditions. Through the use of value theory, the mechanism of the formation of prices in these undeveloped market conditions is examined, and the alterations in the operation of the law of value brought about by changes in historical conditions of existence (pre‐capitalistlcapitalist) are investigated. The theoretical background is provided by Marx's theory of value and recent debates on the working of simple commodity production, while the historical context is set by the evolution of commodity production in England at the dawn of modern era.