Theory of value, labor process and price formation: a study of a Puerto Rican sugarcane hacienda

Abstract

Marx's theory of value is applied to the production and circulation of sugar on a Puerto Rican hacienda in 1911. Through a detailed description of the labor process and the relations between the hacienda and its clients, the role of labor in price formation is discussed, as well as the deviations due to supply and demand and the seasonality of hacienda agriculture. [theory of value, Marxism, Puerto Rico, hacienda, sugar]