A Deeper Treadmill: a Theory of Capitalist Growth in the Great Acceleration
Presentation by Eric Pineault, Kolleg Postwachstumgesellschaften Jena and Institute of environmental sciences, UQAM
2019
vendredi 21 juin 19 From one Treadmill… to another
And from surplus production constrained economies…
vendredi 21 juin 19 vendredi 21 juin 19 The throughput and the biophysical V structures of the economic process
Waste transformation
E
vendredi 21 juin 19 The two surpluses of a capitalist economy
Physiocratic Marxian - surplus Keynesian surplus
Capitalist Growth impetus
vendredi 21 juin 19 A Social Ecology of Capital
vendredi 21 juin 19 Stock / Flow / Capital Nexus
vendredi 21 juin 19 Origin of the growth imperative in advanced capitalism
• Profits and growth in a Postkeynesian perspective: Forms of corporate growth • Growth imperative of corporations, Extensive= growth of sales, output, productive capacity, market share • Maximizing growth = maximizing Intensive= organizational capacity (measured in value of intangible as organizational control over production and assets); innovation, new products brought to market, higher productivity consumption relations and norms, as well as over markets, competitors and regulators • Profit = means to growth in the form of • Eichner’s Megacorp model of corporate accumulation retained earnings freed for investment • Search for «corporate levy» as • retained earnings + depreciation + R-D and marketing (financialized firm = extra rent: share buybacks) • Cost structure and pricing scheme • Direct variable costs: engineered rate capacity= Potential KLEM, Standard operating capacity= realized KLEM • Fixed costs in corporate structure = overhead + financial commitments • Anticipated corporate levy and ex-post profits
Eichner 1983 vendredi 21 juin 19 Treadmill of production theory, Schnaiberg • Dominant approach in environmental • Growth Coalitions and the « unpolitics sociology until 1990’s of expansion » • Dominant economic force: Treadmill located in large capitalist industry • Monopolistic sector • Mechanism: Big State • Centralization of profits – (Interventionist) • Investment biased towards K intensity • Productivity up, employment per unit of output down • Creates demand and social stability problems • Expansion absorbs surplus labour and Big Business Big Labour capital (Managerial) (Organized) • But also centralizes profits • And stabilizes society. Leads to
vendredi 21 juin 19 Social structures of capitalist accumulation • Capitalist corporation • Mass wage-earner • Face growth imperative and must • Value/unvalue rift of «reproductivity» manage devalorisation of fixed K Separation of production and • Maximizing growth = maximizing consumption organizational control of production • Labour force abstracted from and consumption relations as well as reproductive sphere over markets and the state • but L dependence on reproduction • Gross profits (corporate levy)= means • And reproduction dependent on to growth abstracted consumption norm Managed devalorisation = • Unity of production and consumption control over innovation+ condition governed by corporate sector demand+schedule depreciation • Through production of consumption +manage competitive field norm • Secular tendency of colonization of reproductive sphere by productive sphere (growth) • More L • More commodity dependent reproductive activity • Embedded klem in C vendredi 21 juin 19 Treadmill: growth as surplus absorption • General properties • Aim: explain growth dynamics of 20th century • Basic distinction between surplus production advanced capitalist societies constrained economies and surplus absorption • Growth = of monetary production economy constrained economies (GDP) and of biophysical scale of the economy • Why didn’t labour time fall with productivity ? (stocks and EM throughput, MEFA) • Complex iterative interaction • In advanced capitalist societies, wage-earners • Monetary production economy spins the are surplus producers and surplus absorbers throughputs and accumulates and reproduces (or not) stocks • Surplus concept • Stocks and throughput physical potential and constraints of MPE • ambiguity/confusion (value theory) between • Keynesian surplus: K and L (social form) • Growth dynamics based on interaction between large monopolistic corporations and wage- • Physiocratic surplus: E and M (biophysical earning labour market dependent working class form) and state • Not really a surplus • Relative marginalization of smaller firms and • All production in a monetary production independent producers in terms of impact on economy implies KLEM coefficients that is growth and accumulation relatively rigid in the short term (Daly) • Sociological extension of fundamental difference • The surplus is keynesian but its between “price takers” and “price makers” absorption always spins the throughput of • Monopolistic practices = accumulation of E and M organizational power over the economy and society vendredi 21 juin 19 Kaleckian growth model
vendredi 21 juin 19 Financialized Kaleckian Growth Model
vendredi 21 juin 19