Jim Devine wrote: > There is always a role for randomness in real-world historical events. > Capitalism, contrary to some Marxists like Paul Baran in his POLITICAL > ECONOMY OF GROWTH (1956?), is not some sort of monolithic force. It always > involves a dynamic competition of capitals, always striving for advantage > in the battle and striving to attain and/or keep monopoly privileges, often > pressuring the state to help them win. Since capitals are heterogeneous > (unlike the bogus "firms" in utopian neoclassical theory) and since what > happens today changes the nature of the choices available tomorrow, the > results of the process is not pretermined. In the battle of competition, > likes those in a real war, luck plays a role. One question. If the battle between capitals is so fierce how is capital as a whole able to maintain hegemony and how is the capitalist class able to unite to act in its long term self-interest (assuming it does) when the competitive short-term and hence destructive behaviour between individual capitals is so strong? Seems to me the state is one of the actors that helps capital overcome short-term myopia in favor of long term stability. Sam Pawlett
