Marx’s Theory of Rent: A ‘Speculative’ Reading

TLDR: In this article, the authors retrace the trajectory of the theory of rent in Marx's exposition of capitalism by focusing on the status of land as a "commodity without value" (not produced by labour) within this framework.

Abstract: Marx’s theory of rent as presented in the Third Volume of Capital has been a well-researched area in the history of political economy but not many of these studies discuss the theory with respect to the exposition of the labour theory of value and primitive accumulation in the First Volume. In this backdrop, the chapter attempts to retrace the trajectory of the theory of rent in Marx’s exposition of capitalism by focusing on the status of land as a ‘commodity without value’ (not produced by labour) within this framework. By critically engaging with the writings of David Harvey and Enrique Dussel, the chapter also explores the methodological innovation in the deployment of ‘rent’ within a value-based interpretation of the capitalist mode of production and the productive ambiguity in positing the distinction between rent and interest in a capitalist society, especially in terms of competition and return on ‘fictitious capital’.