ABSTRACT

Marx presented his theory of rent in what are considered to be two of his most mature economic works: Theories of Surplus Value (henceforth, TSV) and Capital. In TSV, written during 1862–3, Marx investigated the historical development of the concept of rent by examining the related theoretical challenges, contributions of, and errors committed by previous thinkers. In Capital, written throughout the 1860s, 1870s, and early 1880s, thetheory of rent was presented in a detailed manner within the context of what Marx calls the general laws of value of commodities and of capitalist production. In what follows, we present Marx’s theory of rent based on these two major works. More specifically, we summarize his critique of earlier thinkers on the subject; provide a description of the fully developed theory of rent he advanced as a result of this critique; and finally present an overview of the various interpretations and debates of this theory that have been proposed within the Marxian economic tradition up through the first fifteen years of the 21st century.