Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.6, 2020

The Function of Circulation in Social Reproduction and the Theory of Labor Value

(Abstract)

Wang Xiaodong and Xie Lijuan

Marx’s theory of commodity circulation is of great significance for the scientific understanding of the basic and leading position of the circulation industry in the development of the national economy. The circulation industry has a dual function: the value generation process that maintains production and the value realization process realized through the medium of exchange. The former is productive labor, especially reflected in giving full play to the advantages of socialist system of being able to concentrate our forces on major tasks: we can carry out large-scale construction of transportation and communication infrastructure. The latter is the necessary medium of labor for commodity circulation, which develops and strengthens the real economy. We should be watched to prevent the fetishism that believes that pure circulation costs create value. To explore the special law of socialized circulation in the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics is of great practical significance for promoting supply-side structural reform, building a modern economic system, and meeting the people’s needs for a better life with high-quality development.