Fresh from the catastrophism front

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject: Is the world economy heading for a deep slump?

What's new at "In Defence of Marxism
http://www.marxist.com
October 8th, 1999

- Was our analysis of the world economy right?
  http://www.marxist.com/economy/worldeconomyJC.html

Just over two years ago the Tai baht collapsed. This set off a chain
reaction which rapidly brought the whole of the Southeast Asian economy
to its knees. Stock markets throughout the world plunged. In December
1997 we published a special supplement to Socialisten entitled: "The
first tremors of the coming slump"
(http://www.marxist.com/economy/tremors.html). There we explained that
events in Southeast Asia and on the stock market were no accident, but
reflected deeper problems within the capitalist system itself. The
post-war boom had exhausted itself by the mid-seventies. Since then
capitalism has moved into an epoch of increasingly sharp downturns,
interrupted by only weak upturns. However, since then things seemed to
have turned around. In the USA the economy chugs along at a fairly high
speed. In Sweden and some other industrialised countries the economy is
growing rapidly. Southeast Asia seems to be recuperating. Even Russia has
stopped falling. Was that it? Have we passed through the lowest point of
the downturn? Have we misjudged the character of the epoch? Has IT really
laid the basis for a longer period of economic growth, as Alan Greenspan
and chorus of economists claim, and the IT-countries only suffer mild
recessions?. Jonathan Clyne, editor of the Swedish Marxist magazine
Socialisten (http://home.swipnet.se/socialisten) looks at what we said at
the time and concludes that "our basic analysis of the epoch is still
correct". Translated from Socialisten 43, September 1999.


- "The return of depression economics" (book review)
   http://www.marxist.com/economy/krugamanreview.html


Paul Krugman's new book argues that the world might be facing a
depression again which can only be avoided by returning to Keynesian
policies. Phil Mitchinson reviews the book and points out that the
problem are not "the obsolete doctrines that clutter the minds of men" as
Krugman argues, but "an obsolete economic and political system -
capitalism." October 3rd, 1999
-----------------------
These two articles continue a series of pieces on the world economy. In
the next few days we will put an end to it with a major piece by Alan
Woods on the general perspectives for the world economy.

Read also:

- Like all bubbles, this will burst (Socialist Appeal Editorial, October
1st, 1999)
  http://www.marxist.com/economy/bubble.html

- 1929: Can it happen again? (by Mick Brooks, October 1st, 1999)
  http://www.marxist.com/economy/1929.html

- Wall Street: a total eclipse in sight (by Michael Roberts, September
1st, 1999)
  http://www.marxist.com/economy/eclipse.html

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Yours in solidarity,

Socialist Appeal's "In Defence of Marxism" web site
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Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)