Labor Valorization and Social Reproduction: What is Valuable about the Labor Theory of Value?

This article argues that Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) is the trend best positioned for further developing classical Marxist accounts of the labor theory of value, through a concrete historical account of the family as a capitalist institution. To do so, it traces debates about value within and beyond the range of Marxist-feminist accounts of labor, of the strike tactic and of circulation. These debates include the revival of demands for "wages for housework" and the call for a politics of the commons by Silvia Federici and David Harvey. In particular, Amy D'Aths articulation of a social reproduction account of value and Melinda Cooper's writing on the family are engaged as positive examples for potential further development of Social Reproduction Theory. This argument is placed in the context of a global upsurge of feminist movement and women's strikes, the Metoo movement, and an increasing popular engagement with Marxist-feminist texts and theory.