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The Causes of Capitalist Crisis

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The Causes of Capitalist Crisis Members’ Bulletin 4 THE CAUSES OF CAPITALIST CRISIS 1 This fourth members’ bulletin on the causes of capitalist crisis contains a response by Geoff Jones, a comrade in Wales, to the document ‘what is the cause of the capitalist crisis?’ which was published in MB2. It also includes a reply to the EC statement ‘the causes of capitalist crisis’ which was published in MB 3. The reply to the EC statement was delivered to us in two halves, and has slightly different signatories to both halves. The authors of the document have claimed that the EC has delayed unreasonably in publishing the first half of their reply. We do not accept this, and therefore include the email correspondence between the authors and the EC for comrades information. As with previous bulletins please make sure this is made available to members of your branch. Hannah Sell For the EC Contents: By Geoff Jones page 3 COMMENTS ON ‘CAUSES OF CAPITALIST Crisis’ (11 COMRADES DOCUMENT) Between EC and 11 comrades regarding their page 4 EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE document Endorsing the whole document: Steve Bush page 7 IN DEFENCE OF Marx’s (E&W), Sandra De Andrade (E&W), Steve Dobbs LAW OF THE TENDENCY OF THE (E&W), Pete Glover (E&W), Georg Kumer (Austria), Rae Lewis-Ayling (E&W), Wayne Scott (Scotland), RATE OF PROFIT TO FALL Bruce Wallace (Scotland). Endorsing only the first part: Alec Price (E&W), Allan Coote (E&W). page 26 BUILDING A Endorsing only the second part: Dave Moran (E&W), Ryan Thorpe (Canada), Steve White (E&W). REVOLUTIONARY PARTY IN THE Endorsing all of the first part and sections a to h,k TWENTY FIRST CENTURY and x of the second: Jordan Martinez (US) 2 crete processes rooted in the world economic and COMMENTS ON ‘CAUSES political structure. I assume that the comrades would accept that this has developed since Marx’ and Engles’ OF CAPITALIST Crisis’ (11 time. Two major changes that immediately spring to mind are the collapse of the Stalinist states and their COMrades’ DOCUMENT) immediate opening up as a source of cheap labour, 1. I should like to make some brief comments on this and the capitalisation of the Chinese economy to pro- document. I comment on seven points in appropriate duce cheap consumer goods. It is obvious that both paragraphs, but my major problem is with its extraor- will have a massive effect on capitalists’ rate of profit. dinary abstract and rambling presentation, particu- larly in regard to the work of Andrew Glyn. Only when As Trotsky(3) pointed out: it comes down to practicalities do the most important questions arise. A general point: although Marx’ anal- “As regards the large segments of the capitalist curve ysis is couched in terms of values, all figures quoted of development …., their character and duration are are in terms of prices.This problem of the transforma- determined not by the internal interplay of capitalist tion of values into prices (see for example Morishima forces but by those external conditions through whose & Cataphores (1)) may well have to be considered in channel capitalist development flows. The acquisition any detailed discussion. I shall not deal with it here, by capitalism of new countries and continents, the dis- but add a historical note at the end. covery of new natural resources, and, in the wake of these, such major facts of “superstructural” order as 2. Paras11-16 The comrades are oversimplifying Marx’ wars and revolutions, determine the character and the discussion on crisis which was not necessarily com- replacement of ascending, stagnating or declining ep- pletely consistent. Itoh(2) makes this point more ochs of capitalist development.” clearly than I can. And it is no use complaining about a ‘battle of quotations(para119)’ when this seems to be 7. Para 171. The comrades seem to have no concept of the method employed in the document itself. what is meant by ‘transitional demands’. On the slogan of ‘Nationalise the Banks’, workers’ reaction has moved 3. Para 28: Comrades appear to take exception to the in a relatively short time from ‘You must be mad.’ to statement that “..it is completely false to blame the cri- ‘Dead right, mate.’ and in debate we must build from sis on the fall in the rate of profit alone”. I assume that there. Nobody (I assume) believes that this could take the comrades are quoting accurately, but cannot see place via ‘Act of Parliament’ without a huge ground- their problem, even in their own terms. If someone is swell of a workers’ movement, which would inevitably thrown off a cliff, it is certainly true that their death is and in no time at all involve the takeover of large parts due to the law of gravity, but not due to that law alone. of the remaining capitalist economy. (It wouldn’t be Who did the throwing and for what reason is also rel- as simple as Portugal in 1974 where the bank workers evant. took over their bank and found themselves almost by accident in charge of most of the rest of the economy!). 4. Para 43. Can we have some factual evidence? Also the difference between a ‘law of a tendency’ and a ‘ten- 8. The comments of paras 162-172 seem to me to be wil- dency’ as apparently voiced by unnamed comrades in fully perverse. I fully concur with paras 15-31 of the debate, seems mere quibbling. ‘Defence of the Transitional Programme’ document 5. Para 81. Comrades appear to counterpose to our pic- 9. One final point. I have never read work by Kliman, but ture of capitalist stagnation over a number of years, a it seems ironic that he allies himself to an organisation picture of growth followed by apocalyptic collapse in whose basic founding principle was a denial of the the short term. If they believe their perspective is cor- LTRPF! rect, they should be concretising this, both in terms of practical evidence and in terms of our programme. 10. A historical note. Tony Cliff, Chris Harman and others Should we be preparing for mass food riots, armed in- set up the IS (later SWP) on the theoretical basis of the surrection...? ‘permanent arms economy’ which meant an end to the capitalist boom-slump cycle. They got their ideas from 6. Para 92. This is an extraordinary schematic depiction work by a Prussian statistician Ladislaus von Bortkie- of ‘counter-tendencies’. Counter-tendencies are con- wicz, who married Marx’ transformation of value into 3 prices(C III Part 1) to the two sector model of the capi- talist economy (C II chXX). Von B added a third sector EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE (Luxury goods) and showed that it was possible for the rate of profit in money terms to continue to expand, BETWEEN THE EC AND or at least not to decrease (see Sweezy(4)). Cliff and co. identified the luxury goods sector with the billions ‘The eleven’ regARDING spent on armaments hence ‘permanent arms econo- my’. I’m not sure when they quietly ditched this posi- THE PUBLICATION OF THE tion.(By the way, Von B’s analysis is fallacious because he only considered simple reproduction not expanded DOCUMENT INCLUDING IN reproduction). Geoff Jones (Socialist Party Wales) THIS E-BULLETIN: Refs: 15 November 13 Steve Dobbs to Hannah Sell Dear Hannah, • 1)Michio Morishima & George Catephores: Value, Exploitation and Growth (McGraw Hill 1987) Please find attached the Eleven comrades’ latest contribu- tion to the debate on the cause of capitalist crisis, entitled In • 2)Makoto Itoh: Value and Crisis, (Pluto, 1980) Defence of Marx’s Law of the Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall: A Reply to Lynn Walsh and the Socialist Party Executive • Leon Trotsky : The Curve of Capitalist Deverlopment Committee, for the next Members Bulletin. www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1923/04/capdevel. Comradely, htm Steve • Paul Sweezy: Theory of Capitalist Development, (Dobson 1946) 21 November 13 Hannah Sell to Steve Dobbs Dear Steve, We will circulate the eleven’s reply to the EC statement ‘caus- es of capitalist crisis’ in a future members’ bulletin. However, we will do so once you have completed it. You state that what you have submitted is “the first part” of your reply and that in part two, which we have not yet received, you “will take up the political differences and implications” of the EC’s analysis. However, it is not a Marxist approach to separate economic analysis from political conclusions. Please send us your document when it is complete. In the meantime, of course, this remains an internal discus- sion and your half-document should not be published via social media or other means. Comradely, Hannah For the EC 22 November 13 Steve Dobbs to Hannah Sell Dear Hannah, Thank you for replying. However, it is completely unaccepta- 4 ble to refuse to circulate the latest document on the basis that completely unacceptable. The polemic itself has only recent- “it is not a Marxist approach to separate economic analysis ly been recognised within the party (although not formally in from political conclusions” any written public material such as Socialism Today and The Socialist), and has only just got started. As long as our disa- Firstly, this completely contradicts the EC’s approach to the greements have not been satisfactorily replied to (and they debate. The “Reply to Andrew Kliman” (which was published haven’t), the polemic, in both written and discussion form, publicly online) primarily dealt with the economics, and af- should and will continue. terwards a subsequent second document from the Scottish EC was produced covering the alleged politics around the We believe that comrades have the right to see all documen- transitional programme.
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