Exploitation of Labour Or Exploitation of Commodities?
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Working Paper No. 222
Money and Taxes: The Chartalist L. Randall Wray” Working Paper No. 222 January 1998 *Senior Scholar, The Jerome Levy Economics Institute L. Rnndull Wray Introductory Quotes “A requirement that certain taxes should be paid in particular paper money might give that paper a certain value even if it was irredeemable.” (Edwin Cannan, Marginal Summary to page 3 12 of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, in Smith 1937: 3 12) “[T]he money of a State is not what is of compulsory general acceptance, but what is accepted at the public pay offices...” (Knapp 1924: vii) “Money is the creation of the state; it is not true to say that gold is international currency, for international contracts are never made in terms of gold, but always in terms of some national monetary unit; there is no important distinction between notes and metallic money.... ” Keynes (Keynes 1983: 402) “In an economy where government debt is a major asset on the books of the deposit- issuing banks, the fact that taxes need to be paid gives value to the money of the economy. The virtue of a balanced budget and a surplus insofar as the commodity value (purchasing power) of money is concerned is that the need to pay taxes means that people work and produce in order to get that in which taxes can be paid.” (Minsky 1986: 23 1) *****k*************X*********************~***********~****** Introduction In conventional analysis, money is used to facilitate exchange; its value was long determined by the value of the precious metal it represented, although under a fiat money system, its value is determined by the quantity of commodities it can purchase. -
Modern Monetary Theory: a Marxist Critique
Class, Race and Corporate Power Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 1 2019 Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique Michael Roberts [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower Part of the Economics Commons Recommended Citation Roberts, Michael (2019) "Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique," Class, Race and Corporate Power: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. DOI: 10.25148/CRCP.7.1.008316 Available at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower/vol7/iss1/1 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts, Sciences & Education at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Class, Race and Corporate Power by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique Abstract Compiled from a series of blog posts which can be found at "The Next Recession." Modern monetary theory (MMT) has become flavor of the time among many leftist economic views in recent years. MMT has some traction in the left as it appears to offer theoretical support for policies of fiscal spending funded yb central bank money and running up budget deficits and public debt without earf of crises – and thus backing policies of government spending on infrastructure projects, job creation and industry in direct contrast to neoliberal mainstream policies of austerity and minimal government intervention. Here I will offer my view on the worth of MMT and its policy implications for the labor movement. First, I’ll try and give broad outline to bring out the similarities and difference with Marx’s monetary theory. -
Commodity Dependence and International Commodity Prices
commoDity DEpEndencE anD intErnational 2 commoDity pricEs Since low-income coutries depend mostly on just a few commodities for the bulk share of their export earnings, commodity price fluctuations directly affect the incidence of poverty, as the vast majority of the poor depend on primary commodities for their livelihoods. Photo: Martine Perret/UN Timor-Leste MartinePhoto: Perret/UN Commodity Dependence and International Commodity Prices Introduction The types of commodities exported by a country are another important determinant of a country’s vulnerability to exogenous economic shocks. The majority of developing countries are dependent on primary commodities1 for export revenues and, of the 141 developing countries, 95 depend on primary commodities for at least 50 percent of their export earnings (Brown 2008). However, international commodity prices are notoriously volatile in the short to medium term, sometimes varying by as much as 50 percent in a single year (South Centre 2005). Moreover, price volatility is increasing over time and across a broad range of commodities. “In the past 30 years, there have been as many price shocks across the range of commodities as there were in the preceding 75 years” (Brown 2008). From the perspective of developing countries, especially those whose principal means of foreign exchange earnings come from Over the longer term, dependence the exports of primary commodities, unstable commodity prices on primary commodities heightens create macro-economic instabilities and complicate macro- a country’s vulnerability because economic management. Erratic price movements generate erratic movements in export revenue, cause instability in foreign exchange (non-oil) primary commodity prices reserves and are strongly associated with growth volatility. -
Digital Marx: Toward a Political Economy of Distributed Media
tripleC 10(2): 313-333, 2012 ISSN 1726-670X http://www.triple-c.at Digital Marx: Toward a Political Economy of Distributed Media Andreas Wittel Nottingham Trent University, School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham, United Kingdom, [email protected], http://www.ntu.ac.uk/apps/Profiles/70220-2-2/Dr_Andreas_Wittel.aspx Abstract: This is the claim: In the age of mass media the political economy of media has engaged with Marxist concepts in a rather limited way. In the age of digital media Marxist theory could and should be applied in a much broader sense to this field of research. The article will provide a rationale for this claim with a two step approach. The first step is to produce evidence for the claim that political economy of mass media engaged with Marxist theory in a rather limited way. It is also to explain the logic behind this limited engagement. The second step – which really is the core objective of this article – is an exploration of key concepts of Marx’s political economy - such as labour, value, property and struggle - and a brief outline of their relevance for a critical analysis of digital media. These concepts are particularly relevant for a deeper understanding of phenomena such as non-market production, peer production, and the digital commons, and for interventions in debates on free culture, intellectual property, and free labour. Keywords: Marx, labour, value, property, struggle, political economy of media, digital, distributed media, mass media, internet, network 1. Introduction This is the claim: In the age of mass media the political economy of media has engaged with Marxist concepts in a rather limited way. -
Money As 'Universal Equivalent' and Its Origins in Commodity Exchange
MONEY AS ‘UNIVERSAL EQUIVALENT’ AND ITS ORIGIN IN COMMODITY EXCHANGE COSTAS LAPAVITSAS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON [email protected] MAY 2003 1 1.Introduction The debate between Zelizer (2000) and Fine and Lapavitsas (2000) in the pages of Economy and Society refers to the conceptualisation of money. Zelizer rejects the theorising of money by neoclassical economics (and some sociology), and claims that the concept of ‘money in general’ is invalid. Fine and Lapavitsas also criticise the neoclassical treatment of money but argue, from a Marxist perspective, that ‘money in general’ remains essential for social science. Intervening, Ingham (2001) finds both sides confused and in need of ‘untangling’. It is worth stressing that, despite appearing to be equally critical of both sides, Ingham (2001: 305) ‘strongly agrees’ with Fine and Lapavitsas on the main issue in contention, and defends the importance of a theory of ‘money in general’. However, he sharply criticises Fine and Lapavitsas for drawing on Marx’s work, which he considers incapable of supporting a theory of ‘money in general’. Complicating things further, Ingham (2001: 305) also declares himself ‘at odds with Fine and Lapavitsas’s interpretation of Marx’s conception of money’. For Ingham, in short, Fine and Lapavitsas are right to stress the importance of ‘money in general’ but wrong to rely on Marx, whom they misinterpret to boot. Responding to these charges is awkward since, on the one hand, Ingham concurs with the main thrust of Fine and Lapavitsas and, on the other, there is little to be gained from contesting what Marx ‘really said’ on the issue of money. -
MLP & Infrastructure
Monthly Investment Commentary April 2021 Midstream: Last month, we discussed how midstream has historically provided inflation- resistant income in a way that REITs, utilities, and TIPS have not. Q1 earnings provided a strong case-in-point for this relationship, as midstream profited from commodity bottlenecks, while other sectors absorbed higher costs. This week’s Colonial Pipeline outage is another example of how underinvestment has created less infrastructure redundancy. The fundamental arguments for midstream – benefitting operationally from inflation, while reducing capital employed at a time of rising rates – continue to strengthen, especially compared to capital-intensive sectors like utilities and Cleantech. Natural Resources: As current inflationary pressures mount, the topic of 1970s inflation has grown in prominence. Our analysis of the 1970s highlights the stronger role commodities played in the early 1970s inflationary period, compared to the broader based inflation of the late 1970s. With commodity inflation increasing today in the relative absence of broad-based inflation, at this point, the early 1970s appears to be a more appropriate comparison than the late 1970s and could foreshadow an extended period of inflation. MLP & Infrastructure Performance review During the month of April 2021, the Recurrent MLP & Infrastructure Strategy generated net returns of +5.62%, underperforming the +7.15% return of the Alerian MLP Index (AMZ) by (1.53%). Since the strategy’s July 2017 inception, Recurrent’s MLP & Infrastructure Strategy has outperformed the AMZ by +3.74% (annualized, net of fees). Please see the performance section at bottom for more detail. One year since WTI oil prices went negative, commodity bottlenecks are increasingly frequent From oil and gas, to lumber, copper, steel and aluminum – commodity tightness is making itself felt across the global economy. -
Critiques of Growth in Classical Political Economy: Mill's Stationary
Critiques of growth in classical political economy: Mill’s stationary state and a Marxian response GARETH DALE ABSTRACT In recent political-economic theories of ‘nature,’ Mill and Marx/Engels form important reference points. Ecological economists see Mill’s ‘stationary state’ as seminal, while Marxists have ‘brought capitalism back in’ to debates on growth and climate change, sparking a Marxological renaissance that has overturned our understanding of Marx/Engels’ opus. This essay explores aspects of Mill’s and Marx/Engels’ work and contemporary reception. It identifies a resemblance between their historical dialectics. Marx’s communism is driven by logics of ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ (including the ‘tendency of profit rates to fall’). In Mill’s dialectic a ‘thesis,’ material progress, calls forth its ‘antithesis,’ diminishing returns. The inevitable ‘Aufhebung’ is a stationary state of wealth and population; Mill mentions countervailing tendencies but fails to consider their capacity to postpone utopia’s arrival. Today, Mill’s schema lives on in ecological economics, shorn of determinism but with its market advocacy intact. It appears to contrast with the ‘productive forces expansion’ espoused by Marx/Engels. They stand accused of ‘Promethean arrogance,’ ignoring ‘natural limits’ and ‘gambling on abundance.’ But I find these criticisms to be ill-judged, and propose an alternative reading, arguing that their work contains a critique of the ‘growth paradigm,’ and that their ‘cornucopian’ ends do not sanction ‘promethean’ means. That Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill inhabited the same city for over twenty years without encountering one another has prompted some of their admirers to compensate for the frustration of this event’s unfortunate non-occurrence by means of fantasy. -
4.3. Convict Labour
Christian G. De Vito 4.3. Convict Labour Convict labour is “the work performed by individuals under penal and/or adminis- trative control”.¹ It is the work of prisoners and deportees,individuals impressed into the armyand the navy,prisonersofwar,and military convicts. Arguablyaubiq- uitous phenomenon in human history,itstretches from Antiquitytothe present,ap- pears in virtuallyall parts of the world, and cuts across multiple punitive institutions and labour contexts: from the Romanmines to contemporary concentration camps, through the earlymodernMediterranean and Oceanic galleys, penal transportation, workhouses,and penitentiaries. This chapter addresses convict labour from three distinct perspectives. In the first section, Idiscuss its definition by pointing to the ways by which an individual becomes aconvict labourer.Icontend thatsome histor- ical processes are especiallylikelytoproduce such transformation: war; empire and state building;the search for labour flexibility; conceptualizationsofthe functionof punishment; and ideas on ethnicity,class, and gender.The second section highlights the new trends in bothlabour history and the history of punishment that have been, and still are, transformingthe studyofconvict labour.Iarguethatthree approaches have been especiallyrelevant: the reconceptualization of the “workingclass” beyond wagelabour,toinclude otherlabour relations imbricatedinthe process of labour commodification; the attention paid to the multiplicity of forms thatpunishment has taken historically, rather than to single punitive institutions; and the focus on the spatiality of punishment,i.e.onthe fact that punishing has often involved not onlythe immobilization of convicts, but also their relocation across space. The con- cludingsection reflects on how these new insights might provide the basisfor anew theory of the relationships between punishment and labour,both in the past and in the present. -
Commodity Value Measurement and Connotative Value Currency
Theoretical Economics Letters, 2020, 10, 535-544 https://www.scirp.org/journal/tel ISSN Online: 2162-2086 ISSN Print: 2162-2078 Commodity Value Measurement and Connotative Value Currency Jinjun Cheng1, Dian Cheng2 1Anhui Development and Reform Commission, Hefei, China 2Pudong Development Bank Hefei Branch, Hefei, China How to cite this paper: Cheng, J. J., & Abstract Cheng, D. (2020). Commodity Value Mea- surement and Connotative Value Currency. Goods of utility, in the final analysis, contain two parts of natural value and Theoretical Economics Letters, 10, 535-544. labor value: the natural value is created by god and given to us for free, the https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2020.103034 labor value is the human labor which is condensed in the commodity without Received: April 26, 2020 any difference, and the commodity value is reflected by the labor value. The Accepted: May 24, 2020 essence of human labor is the process of consuming the energy and life time Published: May 27, 2020 of the body and doing physical work to the object of labor. The value of labor, W, is the square root of the product of the energy consumed by the worker, E, Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. and the time spent on labor, T (W = ET ). By discovering the formula of This work is licensed under the Creative commodity labor value, we can design a new currency that conforms to the Commons Attribution International principles of freedom and fairness—the Talent (symbol: Ω|| ), whose value License (CC BY 4.0). || http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ corresponds to its value: 1 Ω = 1 JS⋅ , J is joules, S is seconds. -
Exploitation’ in the Trafficking in Persons Protocol
Issue Paper THE CONCEPT OF ‘EXPLOITATION’ IN THE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PROTOCOL UNITED NATIONS Vienna, 2015 The description and classification of countries and territories in this study and the arrangement of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015 Acknowledgements The present publication was developed by the UNODC Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section under the overall coordination of Ilias Chatzis and in collaboration with Katharina Peschke and Tatiana Balisova. The publication was drafted by Dr. Anne T. Gallagher (consultant), with the support of Dr. Marika McAdam (consultant), who was responsible for conducting the majority of country surveys. Special thanks are extended to Silke Albert and Simone Heri, UNODC, for their input. UNODC expresses its appreciation to those who attended the expert group meeting in Vienna on 13-14 October 2014 and who provided important input: Ms. Myra Albu (International Organization for Migration), Mr. Saad Salim Aldosari (Qatar), Mr. Ahmad Abdullah Al-Harami (Qatar), Mr. Ahmad Ali Falih Nassir Al-Thani (Qatar), Mr. Alberto Andreani (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Ms. Fernanda Alves dos Anjos (Brazil), Ms. Lina Arbelaez (Colombia), Mr. Marco Bonabello (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Mr. Patrik Cederlof (Sweden), Mr. Marcelo Colombo (Argentina), Ms. Damienne Darby (Canada), Ms. -
Abstract Labor: Substance Or Form
ABSTRACT LABOR: SUBSTANCE OR FORM ABSTRACT LABOR: SUBSTANCE OR FORM? A CRITIQUE OF THE VALUE-FORM INTERPRETATION OF MARX’S THEORY by Fred Moseley Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (Mexico City) Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts) May 1997 Our analysis has shown that the form of value, that is the expression of the value of a commodity, arises from the nature of commodity value, as opposed to value and its magnitude arising from their mode of expression as exchange-value. Marx (C. I. 152) It is not money that renders commodities commensurable. Quite the contrary. Because all commodities, as values, are objective human labor and therefore themselves commensurable, their values can be communally measured in one and the same commodity. Mon ey is the necessary form of appearance of the measure of value immanent in commodities - labor-time. Marx (C.I. 188) ABSTRACT LABOR: SUBSTANCE OR FORM? A CRITIQUE OF THE VALUE-FORM INTERPRETATION OF MARX’S THEORY In the Introduction to our first book, I wrote: All the authors agree that Marx attempted in Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Capital to derive abstract labor as the "substance of value," which exists prior to exchange - although it is not observable - and which determines the exchange values of com modities. But there is significant disagreement over the validity file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/mhcuserxp/Desktop/VALUEFRM.htm (1 of 15)10/15/2005 2:29:42 PM ABSTRACT LABOR: SUBSTANCE OR FORM and necessity of Marx’s derivation. Indeed this disagreement is probably the most significant one amount the authors. This controversy has a long history beginning with Boehm-Bawerk. -
The Preeminence of Gold and Silver As Shariah Money
Munich Personal RePEc Archive The Preeminence of Gold and Silver as Shariah Money Krichene, Noureddine and Ghassan, Hassan B. Umm Al-Qura University, IMF 2017 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/95445/ MPRA Paper No. 95445, posted 07 Aug 2019 03:57 UTC The Preeminence of Gold and Silver as Shariah Money Noureddine Krichene1 and Hassan Ghassan2 Published in Thunderbird International Business Review volume 61:821-835, 2019 Abstract Shariah money is gold and silver, supplied by the market on profit criterion. Everywhere, government inconvertible paper money arose from bankruptcy. A government with balanced budgets would never need it. Imposed by force, inconvertible paper is a taxation mean, highly inflationary, and causes impoverishment. Unjust and bankrupt governments will continue to force this despotic money. Islamic Monetary Economics refutes the idea of money as a policy tool. Fully convertible paper is Shariah compliant. Shariah requires a just government to balance its budgets and restore fully gold and silver as lawful money. Key words. Shariah, money, gold-silver, inconvertible paper, inflation, bankruptcy. JEL Classification. E42, E5, F33 1 Professor Noureddine Krichene is an economist, previously affiliated to the International Monetary Fund, and former advisor at the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah: [email protected] 2 Professor Hassan Ghassan (Corresponding author) is an economist at the University of Umm Al-Qura, Department of economics, Makkah: [email protected] 1 1. Introduction Money is defined as the cash in circulation; it is perfectly liquid, unanimously accepted in all transactions. Previously, it included gold and silver coins. Presently, it is government currency. Money substitutes may be less liquid.