Piero Sraffa and 'the true object of economics': the role of the unpublished manuscripts
Résumé
This Special Issue is concerned with the work of Piero Sraffa and with recent developments in its interpretation, occasioned by the opening of the Sraffa Archives in late 1993.1 It brings together some of the contributions to a workshop on this theme that was sponsored by the Cambridge Journal of Economics and held in July 2010 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Piero Sraffa's major work, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities (PCMC). The original workshop on 'New Perspectives on the work of Piero Sraffa' was aimed at Sraffa scholars who had taken the opportunity to engage with materials in the Sraffa Archives and who were interested in exploring their potential for revisiting and placing PCMC in the wider context of ongoing debates on economic philosophy, economic theory and economic policy. As is usually the case, not all presentations made at the workshop were advanced for consideration in this Special Issue, nor could all invitees attend. Heinz Kurz, as Chief Editor of the Sraffa Archives, agreed to present his view on the relevance of the Sraffa Archives to research on Sraffa and to comment on contributions at the workshop, as well as on their final versions submitted for publication in this Special Issue. Kurz's contribution to this Special Issue was, thus, written in the short time available between the receipt of final versions and publication deadlines. We are indebted to him for his cooperation in the preparation of this Special Issue. We are especially grateful for his patience in the time taken to bring this project to publication.