[Marxism] Baran and Sweezy

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lou:

-clip-
  They conclude that, other things equal, the
surplus will rise. Prices will tend to rise and competition among the giants
will put downward pressure on costs. The rise in surplus creates a dilemma
in that if this surplus isn't put back into the economy, excess capacity
will arise and the economy will go into recession or depression. In other
words, there is always a downward drag on the mature capitalist
economy; they call this a tendency toward stagnation. The nature of an
economy dominated by large-size firms in oligopolistic markets won't allow
the problem to be solved internally since oligopolies tend to impede
investment (no big firm can afford to scrap all its capital just because a
more efficient capital is now available).  So a resolution of the problem
has to come from outside the system.  Sometimes a revolutionary innovation
will come by that absorbs all the surplus and more in a wave of investment
that generates a long boom.

^^^^^^
CB: Seems that one temporary "resolution" is to invest the excess surplus in
other countries, including neo-colonies.  Profits made on this export of
capital are extra profits , in the sense that they go beyond what could have
been made if confined to the domestic market. This is a fundamental drive
for imperialism today, including military imperialism to monopololize the
territories around the world.



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