Profits of Doom?

In: New left review: NLR, Heft 54, S. 49-60

Abstract

This contribution to a symposium on Robert Brenner's The Economics of Global Turbulence (2006) notes the vast scope of the book, describing & theorizing on the macroeconomic performance of the advanced capitalist economies -- in particular, the US, Germany, & Japan -- from 1945 to 2005. Crafts examines three major claims made by Brenner with regard to the experience of the US & Europe: (1) that the economic performance of advanced countries worsens over each business cycle as part of a long downturn in the growth of output, productivity, capital stock, & real wages; (2) that the rate of profit is the basic determinant of an economy's growth performance & thus that a turn-around in profitability is the cause of a downturn; & (3) that trends in productivity, driven by technological progress & successful catch-up growth, are not actually the primary drivers of the growth process. Crafts presents examples demonstrating that all three claims are flawed. While Brenner's pessimism may prove correct, it is not persuasive economic history. Tables. S. Stanton