Tom, you say I asked the political questions, when
in fact I asked economical ones - how can be
profits maintained if your suggestions are
accepted. You provide evidence for
the maintanace of productivity, but
not profits the essential motor
of the present economic mechanism.
Do you agree,
the realisation of shortening of the working day
is presently not possible in the capitalist
economic framework?
If you say that a la Marx, we can have yet another
upswing, on what economic field such
as new markets, new investment etc. this could be based on?
Eva
> Eva Durant supposes that my essay misses the importance of profits. She then
> enumerates several points having to do with the non-correspondence between
> productivity and profitability. If I may so characterize Eva's point, it
> refers to Marx's analysis of the internal contradictions of capitalism
> (i.e., forces of production versus relations of production).
>
> Far from missing this point, my analysis is consistent with Marx's analysis
> of the internal contradictions of capitalism. For Marx, the fact of this
> internal contradiction was the starting point -- not the conclusion -- of
> his analysis. Marx was concerned to show not just the inevitability of
> crisis but also how it was that, in spite of this contradiction, extended
> periods of economic stability could exist and how the framework of
> capitalism could periodically renew and reform itself.
>
> Perhaps for Eva such a demonstration seems a "well meant but a cosmetic, a
> superficial idea that disregards the realities of capitalism." But I'd
> rather stick with the unexpurgated text of Capital rather than the "more
> realistic" socialist readers' digest version.
>
> All that I have addressed in my essay is the possibility of an economic
> revival of capitalism. What I haven't addressed is the political prospect of
> such a revival. The second question is, of course, the decisive one but also
> much more complex. I happen to agree with Eva that the political prospect is
> not bright. But that's precisely why I think it is important to show that an
> economic revival is possible within the logic of capital. It seems to me
> that at this stage in historical development, capitalists as a class are
> antagonistic to the renewal of capitalism as a system. Yes, this would be
> the final contradiction.
>
> What capitalists want today is not "efficiency, competition and free
> markets" but a guaranteed income for capital -- a perpetual motion machine
> of compound interest. I think it is important not just to assert that, but
> to show it.
>
> regards,
>
> Tom Walker
>
>
>
>
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