Re: [Marxism] how are (oil) prices set?

[bauerly@xxxxxxxx]

<<<Trading on markets produces no profit; it just shuffles around among
different traders profits mae elsewhere. The exchanges make money, just
as airports make money while airlines are going broke.

Carrol>>>>>

I don't think so.  Futures markets produce risk management that they sell.  They
take a risk based position and bet on the movement of the market.  When as much
money as has been is flowing into oil (or food) commodity futures markets that
risk is reduced to minimal and everyone can increase their capital as the
bubble builds because everyone knows it is only going up (ie: no risk).  They
then take their increased amount of capital and plow it back in, thereby
reproducing and expanding the bubble process.  Of course no increase in use
value was created through there C-C' increase in capital, but when has that
ever stopped capitalists.

So, it is not so much a shuffling around of profits made elsewhere as a whole
system that relies on money as having a direct relationship with use values
when in fact it doesn't.  The value of money is the real issue here and the
product being produced by loose monetary policy and speculative finance is an
increase in the value of money (actually an increase in the amount of money
printed without any inflation) with no increase in use values. The oil price
rise is the same process as the dot com and real estate bubble.  With the
bursting of one creating the conditions for the next one.

Brad


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