João Antônio de Paula and our time

a reading of the critique of political economy

Abstract

On the occasion of João Antônio de Paula’s retirement as a full professor
of UFMG, this paper aims to offer a brief summary of some of the driving
ideas that form the pillars of his robust thinking, inextricably linked to a
praxis that, after all, insists on believing that another society is possible.
Drawing on a review of literature that takes his texts as the fundamental
source, the first section discusses the centrality of the commodity in Karl
Marx’s critique of political economy. The second section moves from the
commodity to the theme of value and the changes brought about by Marx
bring in contrast to the conception present in classical political economy,
while the third section deals with the relationship between value and price.
Armed with this framework, the fourth section approaches the theme of
crisis. Finally, the conclusion discusses what would be, to João Antônio
de Paula, an incompleteness in Marxist work and the challenges this
incompleteness poses in the face of the perverse reality of our time.