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Overproduction is always the overproduction of capital... at least so said Marx in Vol 3 of Capital. Maintaining a depressed currency can certainly increasing export market share. The tactic is called "beggaring thy neighbor," something the US raised to a new level in the 2003-2007 period [having raised it to the old level in the 80s against the Japanese yen]. But when those markets have contracted, then a greater share of a smaller market does not guarantee larger returns than having a smaller but growing share of an expanding market. "Thrift and hard work"? Welcome home Max Weber. Who knew the Chinese had adopted the Protestant ethic? Thrift and hardwork have absolutely nothing to do with it. Cheap labor and $750 billion in FDI are the virtues that produced this reward. Those working the hardest have received far less than those who have appropriate their labor. And as for thrift? Those practicing thrift are actually the rural population where there has been little to spend the annual average income of $800, and families have accumulated reserves to handle medical emergencies since access to govt. medical care has become a bit undone, to put it mildly, over the last couple of decades. If stimulus could be applied to match supply with demand? What is this? Are we channelling the spirit of Keynes here? Matching supply and demand, or not, has nothing to do with overcapacity. Massive amounts of money could be created without stimulating inflation? Actually, sounds more like Greenspan than Keynes. But the clincher is the misanthropic closer: "For those who advocate stewardship of natural resources overcapacity is not nearly as bad as overdemand." Right, the massive overcapacity generated in China has less impact on natural resources than the demand the Chinese are attempting to stimulate. Sure. And all that investment in steel, in aluminum, all those plants are just going to run without making any demands on natural resources. Sure, the real problem is.... too many people, right Barry? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barry Brooks" <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 1:32 PM ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
