[OPE-L:4198] Re: Scrap

Gerald Lev (glevy@pratt.edu)
Wed, 12 Feb 1997 20:49:45 -0800 (PST)

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John wrote in [OPE-L:4197]:

> The capitalist selling the machine to others in low wage countries
> makes a "super profit" unless we assume all capitalists in the sector
> allowed for the sale of this as "scrap" even though it could still
> be used productively in low wage countries. Note that even newer machines
> may not enable capitalists in the low wage country to compete with this
> "scrap."

If it is "really" scrap, then it would be sold based on the material and
weight at a "junkyard". To the capitalist who sold the machinery to the
junkyard owner, it only has a money-value as so much steel, aluminum,
plastic, or whatever. To the "junkyard" capitalist, it has money-value to
the extent that s/he feels that it can be sold at a gain to someone else,
i.e. that it can be marked-up at a price that would allow the selling of the
"scrap" to be a profitable venture. To the capitalist who _buys_ the
"scrap" and wants to import it into another area and re-use it as means of
production, it is (potentially) _more than_ "scrap." Consequently, if
there are "super-profits" to be earned here, it would go not to the owner
of the "junkyard", but (potentially) to the capitalist in another region
who could employ the machinery under non-competitive (in terms
of the world market) conditions. Of course, the buyer of the "scrap"
would also have to take transport costs into account when deciding
whether it would "pay" to have the machinery shipped.

In solidarity, Jerry