economics
The debate on the rate of profit
By Michel Husson
July 2010 -- International Viewpoint -- A polemic on the rate of profit has developed over the last few months. This article seeks to review this debate which turns around four essential questions. [1]
The four questions are:
- an empirical question: what has been the evolution of the rate of profit since the early 1980s in the big capitalist countries?
- a theoretical question: what is the status of the tendential fall in the rate of profit in the Marxist analysis?
- a “semi-theoretical” question: what is the nature of the crisis?
- a programmatic question: what is the impact of this discussion on the proposals advanced in the period opened by the crisis?
The evolution of the rate of profit
Video: David Harvey -- `The animated crisis of capitalism'
On April 26, 2010, Marxist geographer professor David Harvey spoke to the the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) to explain how capitalism came to dominate the world and why it resulted in the current financial crisis. He asks: is it time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order? Above is the animated version of the longer speech he gave. You can view the original speech HERE.
Taking a long view of the current crisis, Harvey exposes the follies of the international financial system, looking closely at the nature of capitalism, how it works and why sometimes it doesn’t.
Toronto G20: `Toxic remedies' will make workers and poor pay for the crisis
By Damien Millet, Sophie Perchellet and Eric Toussaint. Translated by Christine Pagnoulle and Marie Lagatta
Video: David Harvey -- `The crises of capitalism'
On April 26, 2010, Marxist geographer professor David Harvey spoke to the the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) to explain how capitalism came to dominate the world and why it resulted in the current financial crisis. He asks: is it time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order?
Taking a long view of the current crisis, Professor Harvey exposes the follies of the international financial system, looking closely at the nature of capitalism, how it works and why sometimes it doesn’t.
Krise i Hellas – reaksjonær understrøm i Europa
Av Paul Kellogg
Den voksende massebevegelsen og åpningen mot venstre i Hellas er oppmuntrende.
Det er i den bevegelsen det ligger håp om at det en gang kan vokse fram et
virkelig progressivt Europa.
Olivier Besancenot: `We are all Greek workers!'
By Olivier Besancenot and Pierre-François Grond, translated by Richard Fidler and Nathan Rao
May 14, 2010 -- Le Monde via The Bullet -- The events in Greece concern us all. The Greek people are paying for a crisis and a debt not of their making. Today it is the Greeks, tomorrow it will be others, for the same causes will produce the same effects if we allow it.
Greek crisis reveals ‘progressive’ Europe’s reactionary stew
May 3, 2010 – The bailout of the debt-ridden Greek government seems finally to be complete.
Europe: Solidarity with the resistance of the Greek workers (updated May 9)
April 30, 2010
By Ingo Schmidt
Why global capitalism is tipping towards collapse, and how we can act for a decent future
"Random events, those happenings that nobody could foresee, always have a huge impact on historical outcomes."
March 15, 2010 -- This is an excerpt from an essay that forms the entire contents of the March 2010 edition of UNITY, Socialist Worker New Zealand's quarterly Marxist journal for grassroots activists. Following editions of the journal will expand on the crises which are converging to tip global capitalism towards collapse. To subscribe to UNITY journal, email Len Parker at office@sworker.pl.net. UNITY is posted to your letterbox four times a year. Price: $25 for NZ subscribers, NZ$40 offshore fastpost. This excerpt has been posted at Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal with permission.
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By Grant Morgan
Part 1: History lessons
The fable behind the stereotype
China, capitalist accumulation and the world crisis
By Martin Hart-Landsberg
[A version of this article appeared in the South Korean journal, Marxism 21. It has been posted at Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal with Martin Hart-Landsberg’s permission.]
February 2010 -- The consensus among economists is that China’s post-1978 market reform policies have produced one of the world’s greatest economic success stories. Some believe that China is now capable of serving as an anchor for a new (non-US dominated) global economy. A few claim that the reform experience demonstrates the workability (and desirability) of market socialism. This paper is critical of these views.