Marx's Grundrisse* the Contradictions of Capatalism

marx'S grundnsse * Che ooncradiccions of ccocaiism erio aanons The appearance of the first English trans available in it. The selection made depends lation of Marx’s 1857-8 notebooks on polit in part on one’s own interest, and partly on ical economy is a notable event, especially one’s attitude to marxism. for those marxists who have been unable to One set of attitudes is to regard marxism as read it in the original. a finished system containing all that is necess To attempt a normal book review of such ary to know the truth about society; the views a work is impossible, and the problem is of Marx himself (supposing them to be known what to select from the wealth of material without Question) as resolving present-day arguments and problems; and the method em ployed by Marx (supposing that also could be established beyond doubt) as a special meth * The Pelican Marx Library, 1973. 898 pp., od, beyond scientific procedures, for reveal recommended price $3.25. Translated with ing the truth. a foreword by Martin Nicolaus. The other set of attitudes (held by this Another edition, part of the complete works writer) is to take Marx’s findings as the foun of Marx and Engels in English, will shortly be dation for a still developing theory of marx published by Lawrence and Wishart. A limited ism; Marx himself as the initiator, wielding edition in two volumes was published in Mos his theory, of the modern revolutionary cow in 1939 and 1941, and this edition, bound movement; and the works themselves as in one volume was published in the German virtually inexhaustible sources of fundamen Democratic Republic in 1953. tal material, stimulating thought about indiv The famous “Preface to ‘A Critique of Political idual problems, the dynamics of capitalism Economy’” is a Preface to the section of the as a particular social system, and about gen Grundrisse titled “Introduction”, which was eral Questions of society, history and phil published in 1859. osophy. One other major difference in attitudes ardo .... regards the barriers which product is about prediction o f the future. I share ion thereby encounters (that is, in exchange, the views of those who reject the idea that or realisation - E. A.) as accidental, as barr marxism is basically a prediction of what iers which are overcome. He therefore will, inevitably, happen (Marx does speak conceives the overcoming of such barriers in these terms on occasion), and consider as being in the essence of capital.... while the contradictions of capitalism rather as Sismondi, by contrast, emphasises not only the ground of tendencies and possibilities the encounter with the barriers, but their inherent in the system, on which the actual creation by capital itself, and has a vague revolutionary struggle must operate to ach intuition that they must lead to its break ieve a projected outcome. down .... Ricardo and his entire school In this first article I set out to look at never understood the really modern crises, what Marx says in the Grundrisse about in which this contradiction of capital dis the basic ‘contradiction’ (1) of capitalism, charges itself in great thunderstorms which its relationship to the development of the increasingly threaten it as the foundation productive forces, and its significance for of a society and of production itself.” revolutionary practice today. (pp. 410-411). The barriers to consumption created ******* by capitalism referred to here are most The main contradiction of capitalism clearly formulated by Marx in Capital may be briefly described as that between where he says: the social nature of production and the priv “The last cause of all real crises always ate nature of appropriation, this being the remains the poverty and restricted consump ground on which class struggle is generated. tion of the masses as compared to the ten In the Grundrisse four main ways in which dency of capitalist production to develop this contradiction expresses itself and their the productive forces in such a way, that relation to the development of the product only the absolute power of consumption ive forces are elaborated, and one cannot of the entire society would be their limit.” fail to be impressed again by the far-sighted (Capital, Vol. 3, p. 560, Kerr edition). ness and subtlety of Marx’s thought concern ing them. In the same passage Marx also points All these expressions of capitalist contra out that the consuming power of the dictions are of importance to revolutionar workers is restricted both by limits on wages ies today, including some which have been and unemployment, which means that even largely overlooked, perhaps because they this restricted consuming power “can be do not figure prominently in more well- exerted only so long as the labourers can be known works. In Capital, Marx concen employed at a profit for the capitalist trated on two aspects - the periodical class.” economic crises inherent in capitalism, and Marx is of course well aware that a large the falling tendency of the rate of profit. part of realisation occurs between capital ists producing means of production; that 1. Concerning economic crises, Marx ass disproportions between different sectors esses the respective merits and demerits of of industry due to lack of social planning the understanding by economists of the under private ownership also occurs (p.414); processes of capitalism. One approach (exem and that bogus transactions and speculation plified by Ricardo) stressed the dynamic nature favoured by the credit system also may pre of capitalist development of production and cipitate, deepen, or even on occasions cause, productive forces, while regarding the barr particular crises. But these features, import iers in consumption which disrupted it as ant though they are in themselves and in the accidental. The other approach (exemplif discussion of general crises of overproduct ied by Sismondi) stressed that capitalist soc ion, are not their deepest source - that is ial relations themselves caused barriers to identified in the Quotation above. this development because of the restricted The limits on wages referred to are income of the workers. several. ‘Absolute impoverishment’ (a lower and lower standard of living) and ‘relative “Those economists who, like Ricardo, .... impoverishment’ (a possibly higher stand were heedless of the barriers to consumption ard of living, but a falling ‘share’ of total ..... (and) having in view only the develop production wealth and therefore a still ment of the forces of production and the richer capitalist class and a growing gap growth of the industrial population - supply between the classes) have been much dis without regard to demand - have therefore cussed by marxists. grasped the positive essence of capital more Absolute impoverishment is a strand of correctly and deeply than those who, like thought in Marx’s earlier writings. Martin Sismondi, emphasised the barriers of con Nicolaus refers in his foreword to an 1847 sumption .... although the latter has better manuscript ‘On Wages’: grasped the limited nature of production based on capital, its negative one-sidedness. “The manuscript admits wage fluctuat The former more its universal tendency, ions over the short term, both up and down, the latter its particular restrictedness. Ric due to ‘changing fashions, seasons and states 27 of commerce’, but argues that a downward into a fragment of a man, degrade him to ratchet effect was operative, preventing wages, the level of an appendage of a machine, des once they had fallen, from ever rising again troy every remnant of charm in his work and to their full previous level; so that, over the turn it into a hated toil; they estrange from longer term, ‘the minimum .... sinks ever him the intellectual potentialities of the closer to the absolutely lowest level’ and labour-pro cess in the same proportion as ‘ .... the Quantity of commodities the work science is incorporated in it as an independ ers obtain in exchange becomes ever small ent power; they distort the conditions under er ”. (pp. 47-8). which he works, subject him during the Later, especially after the development of labour-pro cess to a despotism the more hate the theory of surplus value, Marx acknowl ful for its meanness; they transform his edged the possibility that there may be periods life-time into working-time, and drag his in which standards of wages and living will wife and child beneath the wheels of the rise (e.g. p. 287), although the extent to Juggernaut of capital. But all methods for which this has occurred for large numbers the production of surplus value are at the of workers in Australia and other industrially same time methods of accumulation; and developed countries was not anticipated by every extension of accumulation becomes Marx or the overwhelming majority of later again a means for the development of those marxists. Discussion of the reasons for methods. It follows therefore that in prop this, its extent and limits, and its contradict ortion as capital accumulates, the lot of ory features are outside the scope of this the labourer, be his payment high or low, article, as is a discussion of the generally must grow worse.” (Capital, Vol 1, pp.708-9). greatly decreased levels of unemployment Although the language may seem exagg compared with pre-war. erated, all the things raised have at various This is not to say, of course, that an ab times been the cause of bitter struggles. solute decrease from the present level may More notable than the language is the not take place following inflation, the energy multiplicity of the expressions of ‘relative crisis, the increasing competition between impoverishment’, if that term is to be capitalist states, and the expected recession retained.

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