[Marxism] Marx before Minsky

[S. Artesian]

Michael,

If this process started around 1972, and I certainly agree that the rate of 
profit for the US peaked in 69-70, and launched the bourgeoisie on their 
great offensive, then what possibly could have delayed its "reckoning"  for 
36 years?

The problem here is that, despite the overall trend of capital, the trend 
itself is punctuated by interruptions, cycles within cycles of contraction 
and expansion.    Overall rates of growth after 1973 do not match the rates 
of growth in the 1945-1969 period, certainly.  However, the 1973-79 rate is 
greater than the post 1981 rate, and the 1992-2001 rate exceeds the 
1981-1991 rate.

In addition there are real increases in capital investment, fixed asset 
accumulation in the 1992-2001 rate which are coincident over the long run 
with increased financialization.

To say capital increasingly reproduced itself along fictitious lines, says 
something, but it doesn't say why the fiction itself falls apart in 2007 as 
opposed to 1990-- it also does not answer why so much more "fictitious" 
capital  -- and I use quotes because ALL capital becomes fictitious when it 
cannot reproduce itself profitably enough-- could be supported.

Some answer-- that this fictitious expansion was supported on the backs of 
the NIE workers in Asia-- China, India, Taiwan, Thailand for example -- with 
the exchange of real goods for "paper," but that basically is a mercantilist 
description and not a Marxist investigation-- as it takes no notice of 
related-party trading between "home" country corporations and subsidiaries 
located in those NIEs; it takes no notice of who actually owns the revenue 
streams involved in that trade.

A friend of mine, pretty well known for his work on fictitious capital, 
argues that capitalism has "been running on empty for forty years."  Well, 
that's a helluva run on empty.  If it's been empty for forty years who can 
we account for the differences in the RPMs?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "michael perelman" <michael at ecst.csuchico.edu>
To: <sartesian at earthlink.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 11:49 PM
Subject: [Marxism] Marx before Minsky


> Previously, I made the case that the financial meltdown was basically a
> delayed response to the severe neglect of investment in plant,
> equipment, and infrastructure. I also explained the cause of this neglect.
>
> http://radicalnotes.com/content/view/73/39/
>