Towards a unified labour value theory of inflation

Amid the resurgence of inflation, persistent austerity measures, and a lingering cost-of-living crisis, the primary aim of this paper is to theoretically exonerate labour from the blame for inflation, a tendency deeply embedded in the mainstream and one that continues to manifest, albeit potentially, within heterodox traditions. We show that achieving this aim requires an alternative Marxian theoretical framework based on the concept of labour value rather than the traditional concepts of cost, income, supply and demand. We identify sufficient textual evidence in Capital III to provide such a theory of price change. Our proposed theoretical framework unifies several factors of inflation, based on the tendency of capitalism to increase productivity and restrain price change, and explains the recent inflationary period by exploring long-term counteracting factors to this tendency.