Was Karl Marx aware of Marginal Theory of Utility?

Karl Marx was not aware of Demand and Supply Theory as developed by Alfred Marshall, mainly because of chronological gap between their lives. Karl Marx lived from 1818 to 1883. Alfred Marshall published his 
Principles of Economics in 1890, seven years after the death of Karl Marx.

Marginal utility theory came around 1870.

Marginal Utility Theory before Alfred Marshall:

1. William Stanley Jevon (1835 to 1882) There are three books to his credit:
a) A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy 1862
b) The Coal Question 1865
c) The Theory of Political Economy 1871.

Above publications showcase on marginal utility theory and its application to economics. It is unlikely that Marx was aware of these publications, and the Theory of Political Economy was published towards the end of Marx's life.

2. Carl Menger was an Austrian economist and the founder of Austrian School of Economics. Marginal theory of value developed by him laid the groundwork for modern microeconomics. His book Principles of Economics, published in 1871, advanced the theory of marginal utility.

3. Leon Walrus (1834 to 1910) Along with Carl Menger and William Stanley Jevon developed the concept of Marginal utility theory.

Karl Marx relied on the supply side of the economy, particularly the production process and labour theory of value. He overlooked demand and supply theory for several reasons. Marx's primary goal was to criticize capitalism, highliting the issues like alienation, exploitation and class struggle. His analysis focused on macro level economic structures and class relationship. He was deeply rooted in the historical context of industrial capitalism.

Marx's oversight of demand and supply theory reflects the intellectual and historical context of his time. Marx take into account the factors upto factory gate, and factors beyond the factory gate do not come in his focus. 

The product has to travel a lot to attain the consumer point. It requires additional costs. All these are reflected in the price. Availability of the product, the surpus or scarcity also influences the price. Prices tend to decrease in surplus and increase in scarcity.

The growth of middle class and changing economic relationships were not taken into consideration by Karl Marx. 


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