Charles, you are exactly right. In my book on Marx's theories of crises, I tried to make the same point. In a world in which prices bear some resemblance to embodied abstract labor, the process of capitalist accumulation has a degree of rationality. Once you let what Jonathan calls power and I would call fictitious value enter into the scheme, the system runs amok until crises establish more of a link between prices and the underlying values, and the cycle begins again.
On Sat, Jan 15, 2005 at 10:50:12AM -0500, Charles Brown wrote: > "Perelman, Michael" : > Two observations. 1. I have mentioned here several times that we have no > way of calculating the abstract labor values of already installed constant > capital unless we have a scientific means of measuring depreciation. > > ^^^^ > CB: Can we say that Marx's version of capital portrays it as more rational > than it really is ? The idea that capital is organized based on > expropriation of values based on labor time gives the capitalists too much > credit, attributes to them too much rationality. > > Seems like capital really _is_ embezzlement. Bubbles are typical, not > exceptional. The bezzle rules. The "architecture" of capital is literally, > not figuratively, that of the casino. > > Capitalism is worse than Marx said it is. > > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
