David’s Reviews > Selected Essays on the Dynamics of the Capitalist Economy 1933–1970 > Status Update
David
is on page 79 of 206
"Gross profits = gross investment + capitalists' consumption". Does it mean that profits determine capitalists' consumption and investment? [...] Capitalists may decide to consume and to invest more in a given period than in the preceding one, but they cannot decide to earn more. It is, therefore, their investment and consumption decisions which determine profits, and not vice versa.
— Jun 09, 2021 05:30AM
1 like · Like flag
David’s Previous Updates
David
is on page 155 of 206
"Luxemburg maintained that capitalism is saved by 'external markets'. In her time ut was no doubt exaggerated but it has proved right today." In this case, Kalecki is referring to markets that can absorb surplus value over and above what 'normal' circulation would permit, ie government investment financed by taxing capitalist/rentier profit. Taxing workers merely displaces consumption, it doesn't add any.
— Jun 11, 2021 12:08PM
David
is on page 43 of 206
"[Capital taxation] has all the merits of financing the State expenditure by borrowing, but ... [has] the advantage of the State not becoming indebted. It is difficult to believe, however, that capital taxation will ever be applied for this purpose on a large scale; for it may seem to undermine the principle of private property."
— Jun 04, 2021 06:01PM
David
is on page 30 of 206
I do like my good man Karl H Marx but how nice to read an economist who writes so lucidly, connects each micro observation to its necessary aggregate consequences. Thoroughly enjoying this.
— Jun 03, 2021 12:29AM
David
is on page 18 of 206
"If a government borrows from the capitalists at home, spending the proceeds of the loan, e.g. on armaments, payments of doles, or public works, the result is very similar to that of securing a surplus in foreign trade. ... The formula for profits must be modified: in addition to capitalists' consumption, investment and the balance of trade, they also include 'domestic exports'."
— Jun 02, 2021 12:55AM
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
T
(new)
-
added it
Jun 09, 2021 05:34AM
Isn't this why post-Keynesians emphasise the "mark up" price included in the resultant profits?
reply
|
flag
I'm afraid I'm quite unacquainted with the post-keynesian canon, so I'm not sure! I mostly highlighted it bc it's another good example of Kalecki refusing to treat economics as a system of disembodied laws. Also itself an interesting paradox I'm keen to see him discuss further: investment itself, as a subset of aggregate demand, is uniquely determined by the expectation of profitability, and we can assume capitalists will invest profitably when they can. If an economy enters stagnation and reduces profits as a whole by reducing the size of business (even though individual businesses may thrive), does this mean we need a capital entity unafraid of making net-loss investments (the state) so as to restore accumulation?
I'm not either, I just did a cheap online course and they gave a PK formula for profit. I'll dig it out at some point, but I did it last year. As to your question, absolutely! The state makes a huge amount of investment or intervention which business then uses to privatise the gains from (e.g. inventions, technology, knowledge production, direct monetary investment, regulatory changes etc). This is why Marxists emphasise the capitalist nature of the state, in that it may tax business and be demonised by it, but it is a state which performs functions necessary to grow business and support capital
Also, what essays are in this book? I've read The Last Phase..., and bought Theory of Economic Dynamics and Selected Essays on Economic Planning, so I don't want to buy unnecessary matierial
Oh I know that the state must play that role, but I was wondering to what degree Kalecki would theorise it :). Only goes into briefly, but then again this is a pretty short compilation.I'll send you a picture of the table of contents via pm!
