Charles, The problem with the analysis you offer is that there is no historical specificity, no distinction between "good" times and "bad" times; no reason for expansion, and no reason for the expansion to flip into contraction.
If the problem is, ultimately, and originally, that the workers can't buy all the product, then capitalism should never expand; then reducing wages and increasing the rate of expropriation should not provide capital with a, however temporary, boost, then changes in technology that lead to greater rates of relative surplus value should have no impact on the rates of reproduction. The rate of return on investment certainly does not decline because workers can't buy all the product, nor does the rate of return increase when workers can buy more of the product. -----Original Message----- >From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Jun 5, 2007 12:02 PM >To: [email protected] >Subject: [PEN-L] What is Marx's view of fiscal policy ? > >Actually think that assumption is unwarranted, that >consumption by workers is never, ok, ok, I exaggerate, >almost never the issue for capitalism. > >^^^^ >CB: I'm saying it's an issue for Marx in his theory of the cause of crises. >He says the increasing organic composition of capital causes the rate of >profit to fall, but also in Vol. III,he says the ultimate cause of all >crises is that capitalism produces as if the working masses are paid enough >to buy everything. > >^^^^^ > >Don't forget, capitalism is built upon the fact, the >social relation, that the workers do not, cannot, may not, >will not, consume all that is produced, all they produce. > >^^^^^ >CB; Exactly the point. Exploitation means that the wage-laborers are paid >less than the value of what they produce, so they don't have enough to buy >all they produce. So, some surplus value won't be realized by some >capitalists. So, the rate of profit, realized profit, will fall. So, there >will be crises. > > >^^^^ > >The question is the question of the reproduction >of capital, and that depends on rate, in terms of speed and >size, of return in capitalist production as a whole. > >^^^^^ >CB: return ? The capitalists don't get their full return because all their >stuff can't be bought. The capitalist exploits the workers, but if the >capitalist can't sell all of what is exploited , the exploited aspect cannot >be fully realized as money in the hands of the capitalist. It's theoretical >surplus value, not realized surplus value.
