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Re: [OPE-L] simple reproduction

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On Fri, 30 Mar 2007, Rakesh Bhandari wrote:

I was wondering whether anyone could recommend any other work or
offer some analytical comments on just why capitalism could not
settle into simple reproduction (stationary state?) or why even
if were constrained to do so it would have difficulty
maintaining equilibrium.


It's possible "in principle", if the capitalists consume the
surplus and just carry out replacement investment.  But I'd say
the instability stems from this consideration: as soon as each
capitalist sees that his competitors are just plodding along doing
the same thing over and over, he realizes he could carry out a
little investment, improve his technology, and make a killing.
Excessive stability creates a strong incentive to destabilize.

Allin Cottrell

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