Re: [OPE] Just published: THE NATIONAL QUESTION AND THE QUESTION O F CRISIS (RPE, Vol. 26)

I think you have to understand this in terms of the characteristic forms of behaviour of capitalists versus earlier exploiting classes. What was new about capitalists was the drive to unlimited accumulation. Marx showed that this led to a contradiction in the falling rate of profit. If on the other hand the upper class become less capitalistic, and more like the old wasteful aristocracy, then the specifically capitalist contradiction that led to the falling rate of profit is removed. They loose their residual economically progressive role by ceasing to be capitalists, but unproductive and wasteful ruling classes have been not uncommon in the past.

--- original message ---
From: "GERALD LEVY" <gerald_a_levy@msn.com>
Subject: Re: [OPE] Just published: THE NATIONAL QUESTION AND THE QUESTION OF CRISIS (RPE, Vol. 26)
Date: 29th November 2010
Time: 2:08:40 pm

> That is the non dynamic solution Gerry, you have to take into account the effect of the time integral of the accumulation rate on the rate of profit. The higher the unproductive consumption, the less the accumulation and the lower the organic composition and hence the higher the long term rate of profit.
> Remember that the organic composition stabilises when net accumulation per worker equals zero.>>>

Hi Paul C:

You want to look at the question dynamically but why not also spatially?
Let's consider the form that unproductive expenditures take. For instance:

* state military spending: what effect this will have on accumulation in
an individual economy is uncertain, isn't it? (well, I guess there
would be more certainty if we eliminated the possibility of economic gains
from war and force).

* corporate spending on advert ising: increases in this might increase profitability
for some firms (branches of production/nations/regions) but will it necessarily
increase the average rate of profit for the world capitalist economy?

* if states hired more lawyers and diplomats and prison guards, how would this
cause global profitability to rise over the long term?

Another issue:

There is an interesting policy proposal implication to your theorization:
if corporations and states want to increase the long-term rate of profit all they
have to do is increase unproductive expenditures. This is a particularly
odd perspective, imo, coming from someone who is partially Smith-inspired.

In solidarity, Jerry
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Received on Mon Nov 29 13:06:05 2010