>>20933>the input-output table meme needs to stop, it's a terrible abstraction.It's not an "abstraction." If anything it's a more concrete version of Marx's reproduction schema, which is meant to represent macroeconomic trends. Both the input-output table and Marx's reproduction schemas are descended from the Physiocrat François Quesnay's Tableau économique. Marx didn't have access to spreadsheets or programming languages like R, or really much rigorous training in statistics, so it's shocking that he did as well as he did with limited resources. Modern Marxian economists attempting to simulate macroeconomic trends and monitor the changing organic composition of capital in a national or international economy would do well to reference input-output tables. In the input-output table is everything you need for a reproduction schema in the style of Marx, because you have statistics for capital and labor per industry, including cross-pollinating capitals across industries. You can consolidate these industries into Marx's "departments" (1 means of production, 2a necessities, 2b luxuries/armaments). You can track the rate of exploitation and the rate of surplus value this way. You can find out how much capital per industry is going to wages versus profit. You can find out how much labor the economy is wasting on the production of non-necessary goods versus necessary goods and means of production.