Le interpretazioni della teoria del fondo-salari di John Stuart Mill. Una valutazione

The purpose of this work is to discuss the main interpretations of John Stuart Mill’s wages fund theory and subsequent recantation as they have been suggested in relatively recent years. The first interpretation considered assumes that the wages fund is the total amount of wage goods existing at a particular moment in a country or in an economy and which must be considered fixed for a substantial period of time; in fact, in order to be increased it requires that the present processes of production are already completed. Further on, Hollander’s interpretation is discussed, according to which Mill’s theory is similar to the apparently more elaborate version of the theory presented by Cairnes. Finally we find an interpretation of Mill’s well known recantation suggested by West and Hafer, who believe that Mill had not the actual intention to recant his previous theory. All three these interpretations do not seem, however, to correspond to the real meaning of Mill’s theory.