Exploitation Is Not a Game: A Critique of John Roemer

Abstract

The theoretical work of John Roemer is an important reference point in the modern debate on classes. Roemer’s methodology, adopted explicitly as an import from neoclassical economics, as well as many of his conclusions, made him a target of criticisms of a wide range of more classically-minded Marxists. Nevertheless, Roemer has had some influence on other theorists — Erik Olin Wright, as mentioned above, being probably the most prominent among them. In this chapter, I would like to offer a critical discussion of Roemer’s work, in order to be able to later reconstruct and clarify a concept of exploitation on which I believe a theory of class could be based.