Suchergebnisse

The processes involved in the movement of the capitalist system are studied. Karl Marx's understanding of the factors involved in the circulation of social capital & assertion that interruptions in social capital's reproduction will necessarily lead to periods of crisis are discussed. In addition, Marx's separation of social production into the production of means of production & consumption as a means of resolving concerns about replacing capital is reviewed. Although the nature of capitalism's movement is deemed cyclical, it is contended that capitalism's cyclical nature does not manifest unless the role of fixed capital is contemplated. Each cycle of capitalist development is then separated into four phases: depression, recovery, prosperity, & crisis. Factors responsible for the transition from depression to recovery/expansion are subsequently considered. In addition, the principal characteristics of the depression & expansion stages are identified; specifically, it is claimed that overproduction is characteristic of both stages, but that expansion is initiated by the market maturation of such overproduction. Problems created when the equilibrium of supply-demand relations are incompatible with social equilibrium are addressed. It is stressed that harmonious relations between consumption & production are preserved only as long as commodities are exchanged according to their proper values; consequently, the law of value is interpreted as playing a central part in the cyclical movement of capitalism. The role that technology, especially in the form of machinery, plays in capitalism's cyclical development is also pondered; ultimately, it is maintained that new cycles of capitalist development coincide with production's realization of new levels of technology. It is suggested that capitalist society is essentially contradictory since it fashions anarchic economic growth into a law-governed system of economic development. 27 References. J. W. Parker

Translator's Introduction: Maksakovsky's The Capitalist Cycle -- Pavel V. Maksakovsky -- The Capitalist Cycle: An Essay on the Marxist Theory of the Cycle -- Foreword by A.S. Mendel'son -- Introduction -- 1. Methodological Foundations of the Theory of the Conjuncture -- 2. The General Theory of the Cycle -- 3. The Role of Credit in the Conjuncture -- 4. The Problem of Crises in the Works of Marx -- 5. In Place of a Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.