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He might be alluding to an issue he discusses in chapter 10 of Capital, vol. 3: higher-cost producers' products become profitable to produce, and are thus produced, when demand is high; and only the lowest-cost producers' products are profitable to produce, and thus produced, when demand is low. So the industry-wide average cost of production changes along with changes in demand.

We'd normally say that this means that the cost of production is determined partly by demand, not vice-versa. But in the context of the passage you cite, his point may have been to emphasize a second way in which prices tend to correspond to  costs of production-not only the dampening of deviations of prices from the prices that reflect costs of production, but also the lessening of deviations of the latter from the former.

From: To complement the journal 'Capital and Class' (ISSN 0 309 8786) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Denis, Andy
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2017 10:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Interpretative question

Dear Capital & Class list members

I have a question about what Marx meant, which I am hoping you may be able to help me with.

In Wage Labour and Capital, Chapter 3 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/ch03.htm), Marx says:

"We could show, from another point of view, how not only the supply, but also the demand, is determined by the cost of production. But this would lead us too far away from our subject."

Did Marx ever say anywhere what he meant by this, how demand is determined by cost of production?  If not, what did he mean?

I'd be grateful for any hints.

Andy

Andrew Denis, PhD, FRSA
Senior lecturer in political economy
Department of Economics
City, University of London
+44 (0)20 7040 0257
http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/andy.denis