the article is okay. I've never believed that Marx's argument for the Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall (TRPF) due to increased mechanization was coherent. It makes sense that Marx rejected this theory. Nor does it make sense, as the early Marx seemed to believe, that economic crises are a sign of capitalism's demise. However, I think Heinrich puts much too much emphasis on the independent role of finance in causing crises.
Heinrich presents a good quote from Marx on the contradiction between the production and realization of surplus-value as profits or property income. I interpret this as saying that under free-market capitalism, when conditions are best for producing surplus-value (i.e., high unemployment) they are bad for realizing it as profits. On the other hand, when conditions are best for realization (low unemployment), it's harder to get workers to work and produce surplus-value. There may be some ideal condition where these conditions are balanced, but accumulation's normal workings prevent it from persisting. On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 10:49 PM, Angelus Novus <[email protected] > wrote: > > Hopefully this will lead to some interesting debates. Among other things, > Heinrich argues against the so-called "law" of the tendency of the rate of > profit to fall. > > From the April issue of Monthly Review: > > Crisis Theory, the Law of the Tendency of the Profit Rate to Fall, and > Marx’s Studies in the 1870s > > Michael Heinrich > > The development of crisis theory within the Marxian tradition has been > central to much of our work in the last several years. The view that the > various fragmentary references to crisis theory in the three volumes of > Capital constitute a fully developed coherent structure, which only > requires diligent exegesis, is a view that has never seemed sensible to us. > > Recent research into the evolution of Marx’s manuscripts in connection > with the production of the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (MEGA), the > historical-critical edition of the complete writings of Karl Marx and > Friedrich Engels, has confirmed our understanding in a very exciting way. > It is now clear that Marx never ceased to develop his thinking on the > phenomena of crises in capitalism, and never ceased to discard earlier > formulations; for example, at the end of his life he was focused on > questions of credit and crisis. Monthly Review rarely presents its readers > with discussions of economic theory at a relatively high degree of > abstraction; this, however, is such an occasion. We trust that the author’s > exemplary clarity will permit ready access to readers with any degree of > interest in Marx’s theory; for those who wish to become familiar with the > conceptual outline of Marx’s work, we cannot do better than to recommend > the author’s An Introduction to > the Three Volumes of Karl Marx’s Capital (Monthly Review Press, 2012). > —The Editors > > Full article: > http://monthlyreview.org/2013/04/01/crisis-theory-the-law-of-the-tendency-of-the-profit-rate-to-fall-and-marxs-studies-in-the-1870s > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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