Marx and Marini on Absolute and Relative Surplus Value

The paper presents the concepts of absolute and relative surplus value with a view to specifying how these categories are used by the Latin American Marxist, Ruy Mauro Marini in his theory of labor power superexploitation and subimperialism. It is argued that both types of extraction of surplus value are derived logically and historically by Marx. On this basis, the paper explains the controversy concerning the specificity of the dependent capitalist economy by pointing out that it has its roots, in theoretical terms, in the question of the generalization of relative surplus value throughout the entire world, and in practical terms, in the issue of how political action can construct a socialist society on the periphery of the capitalist system.