Research in Political Economy – serie

This work provides articles advancing the theoretical understanding of modern capitalism, including comparing post-Keynesian and Marxian conceptions of the endogenity of money, periodizing stages of capitalism, and understanding what "growth" means precisely beyond its common representations around gross domestic product. The economic theory of crises in capitalism is also explored theoretically and applied to the cases of Australia, France and Sweden in different time periods. The volume concludes with a symposium on applying cost theory to understanding the direction of the rate of profit in capitalism, starting from the well-known work of the Japanese economist Okishio.

This volume begins with an introduction to Marx's theory of capitalism in his own words, with his examples modernized from use of shillings and pence as subdivisions of the Pound. Well-known 1901 work on the theory of crises in capitalism by Michael Tugan-Baranowsky is translated into English for the first time, with a Preface placing it in context. The political activism and theoretical work of Henryk Grossman through 1926 is summarized in some detail, and a rarely-known brief article of his from 1919 included. Ambiguity in Marx's definition of accumulation of capital and the differing directions Lenin and Luxemburg took with it are next analyzed, with a more precise definition offered. Debate, begun in the last volume, over the valuation of means of production and its effect on the possibility of a falling tendency of the profit rate is taken a step forward as contrasting positions are developed. Finally, credit money as an advanced form of money is analyzed and the post-Keynesian analysis of it, originating from Kaldor, subject to critique. Several theories of inflation theory are reviewed, with focus on the agencies causing inflation. A rediscovery of Marxian inflation theory is proposed.

This volume of Research in Political Economy sets out to explore three key themes pertinent to the critique of political economy: (1) the disciplinary role of capital under neoliberalism, (2) accumulation and finance, and (3) the life and theories of Rosa Luxemburg. While the sections focus on different aspects of political economy, taken as a whole, they complement each other in striking a balance between concrete and abstract Marxist analyses. The essays in the first section critically examines the more concrete aspects of political economy, such as the changing role of the World Bank vis-a-vis the Third World, the Millennium Challenge Account - a newly forged 'official development compact' put forward by the Bush II administration, the disciplinary strategies tied to labour restructuring in Argentina, the political economy of financial fragility on a global scale, and a cultural critique of the Documenta11. The essays in the second section explore analytically dimensions of Marx's theory of the monetary circuit, Rudolf Hilferding's banking theory, Henryk Grossman's Law of Accumulation, and the evidence surrounding supposed value-price correlations. The articles in the third section of the volume are devoted to the person and theoretical contribution of Rosa Luxemburg, the famous Polish-German theoretician and revolutionary leader.

The leading part of this volume focuses on the role of the state in capitalist society, beginning by showing the welfare state as an historical product of the class structure of English agrarian capitalism. The second chapter indicates how, in European colonies such as in Africa, taxation was an important means of forcing indigenous populations to work as wage-laborers or produce cash crops, and relating the process to Marx's 'primitive accumulation of capital'. The following two chapters move to the contemporary period, the first suggesting that change in the relationship between the nation-state and capital is rooted in the contradictory needs of labor versus capital, while the next chapter proposes analyzing capitalist institutions by relying, more than hitherto, on an hermeneutic understanding of institutions. The following part addresses price and technical choice in capitalism. The first two chapters address price, the initial one suggesting its formation to be the same as the formation of abstract labor, while the second identifying a new category of exchange value and using it to explain how changes in demand act to redistribute value across industries. The following two chapters consider, empirically, the relation between technical choice and profit rates. The third part addresses economic democracy within socialism, defending both direct democracy and economic calculation in terms of labor time. The concluding part develops an understanding of the class determination of knowledge, including explaining why the science and techniques developed in one class society can be used in others.

This important volume brings together rigorous scholarship on the events of 9-11-2001, and assesses whether the truth has been told by the U.S. government. The lead chapter shows that eleven of FBI-named Arabic hijackers could not have been on the planes, while the Dulles airport videotape - essentially being the case that hijackers boarded flights - has very serious authentication problems. The next three chapters examine insider trading beforehand and the 9-11 flights themselves, then the evidence - based partly upon newly-released reports of more than 500 firefighters - permitting a conclusion that three buildings in the WTC complex were brought down by demolition, followed by discussion of scheduled military drills which confused standard operating procedures, and concluding with a surprising connection to the death of Senator Wellstone, leading critique of the Bush administration. The third part opens with a chapter examining the connection between Al-Qaeda and Western covert operations, showing how Al-Qaeda is inseparably connected to the latter. The following chapter shows that Machiavellian state terrorism is rather common and not at all unlikely for 9-11, while the following examines how the 9-11 Commission wrote its own history, rather than reporting and analyzing true history. The rise of Islamophobia as an ideological force to sustain U.S. imperialism is then introduced. The final chapter, while not explicit, offers a possible connection to the process of undermining pensions in the U.K. The volume can be seen as a definitive, scholarly explanation of 9-11 as a world-changing event.

The research is founded on analyzing society in a manner consistent with classical Marxism. International in scope, the annual volumes deal primarily with economic and political issues and the unity between them. Both theoretical and empirical works are included. While published papers must be appropriate for developing class analysis of society, they need not be explicitly Marxist. The 24th volume in the series focuses on Latin America. This book series is available electronically at website.

This volume focuses on nationality's efficacy in much of world affairs, and on the background and current issues surrounding global crisis. As one of the most famous Marxist revolutionaries, Rosa Luxemburg vigorously promoted her own conceptions, often opposing Lenin, her contemporary. In this volume, Narihiko Ito offers a much needed, extensive analysis of her position. This is followed by a critique of the current Iranian conjuncture, offered by Farhang Morady. The development of crises in capitalism is addressed both directly and indirectly within the volume. The volume continues with Karen Petersen's analysis of the post-WWII developments of major currencies. Restoring the concept of freedom within the current crisis, Alan Freeman argues the need to extricate French positivism from the Marxism that developed after Marx. Radhika Desai highlights renewed consideration of the major role of consumption demand in Marxist theory and considers implications for the current crisis. Paul Zarembka extends, theoretically and empirically, Marx's analysis of long-term capitalist accumulation and shows that merely 10-15 percent of surplus value has been needed for the accumulation occurring over the past 150 years. The final chapter by Jorgen Sandemose presents a careful argument offering notions of the origins of Marx's Capital. His chapter culminates in an engaging volume that addresses The National Question and the Question of Crisis.

As a few alert mainstream and corporate economists rediscover the certain elements of Marx's analysis of capitalism, the essays in the first part of this volume demonstrate that they have far to go. To their discredit, mainstream understandings whether of capitalism's growth or of Western capitalism's interrelated long-term stagnation and financialization are derailed precisely by political aversion to, or ignorance of, Marxist categories and analyses. The chapters in the second part extend Marxist insights into assessing the value of the so-called information, or knowledge-based, commodities, and offer a Marxist critique of Lenin, the only world leader who earlier had deeply studied his own country's economy. The part also presents two important works in translation. The first, read in Russian by Marx himself, raises serious questions about the relevance of Hegel in the understanding of Capital and offers its own insightful analysis. The other, by a Marxist collective in the 1970s demonstrates the centrality of politics and the class struggle in the simplistically conceived economic devalorization of constant capital. The final part contains a debate on the merits of positivist Marxism sparked by an article in Volume 26 of this research series.

This volume analyzes two decisive factors that have become embedded in the world spread of capitalism, a shift toward dominance of the financial sector, now entailing massive greed and calling into question whether the 'rules' of capitalism have been broken, and of global wage differentials so deep that recognition of a labor aristocracy cannot be avoided. These chapters are supplemented by two additional showing that gold still regulates the dollar's value, and that unpaid reproductive labor of women adversely affects labor productivity. Analysis of finance engenders discussion of its place in value theory, posed around the rate of profit, and is more complex than often presented. Furthermore, the varying rates of profit at the firm level, not just for financials, are distributed in a manner exhibiting more frequent extreme cases than a Bell-curve would suggest. Implications for incorporation of randomization into political economy are drawn. The final chapters provide evidence that Marx was more correct than Kalecki and Minsky when arguing the lead of profits for investment, and that product innovations can mitigate problems of over-production resulting from process innovations.

This volume examines the recent advance of neoliberalism. The volume begins with a very extensive study of the archives of Piero Sraffa, which suggests the importance of Marx's influence on his work. The following chapters address the recent multifaceted advance of neoliberalism, with a focus on three current instances. Firstly, suggesting uneven development as in Rosa Luxemburg. South African multi-billion dollar investments in two fossil-fuel projects have recently cemented debtor relations to the World Bank and the Chinese Development Bank, while generating activist opposition in this era of climate crisis. A second instance focuses on secondary school teachers in England whose work load is not only increasing but also increasingly commodified and judged, a development that represents the penetration of abstract labor and alienation, as in Marx. The third example examines the credit bubbles in Greece, noting them as an example of the progency of fictitious capital. The remaining chapters include a critique of Althusser's interpretation of the Marxist philosophy of science, and a continued discussion regarding the concept of a labor aristocracy, engaging the work of Zak Cope.

This work advances geopolitical economy as a new approach to understanding the evolution of the capitalist world order and its 21st century form of multipolarity. Neither can be explained by recently dominant approaches such as 'U.S. hegemony' or 'globalization': they treat the world economy as a seamless whole in which either no state matters or only one does. Today's 'BRICs' and 'emerging economies' are only the latest instances of state-led or combined development. Such development has a long history of repeatedly challenging the unevenness of capitalism and the international division of labour it created. It is this dialectic of uneven and combined development, not markets or imperialism, which has spread productive capacity around the world. It also ensured that the 'hegemony' of the UK would end and attempts to create that of the US would peter out into multipolarity. This two part volume paves the way, advancing Geopolitical Economy as a new approach to the study of international relations and international political economy. They expose the theoretical limitations of the latter in Part I and the analytical limitations in Part II.

This work advances geopolitical economy as a new approach to understanding the evolution of the capitalist world order and its 21st century form of multipolarity. Neither can be explained by recently dominant approaches such as U.S. hegemony or globalization: they treat the world economy as a seamless whole in which either no state matters or only one does. Today's BRICs and emerging economies are only the latest instances of state-led or combined development. Such development has a long history of repeatedly challenging the unevenness of capitalism and the international division of labour it created. It is this dialectic of uneven and combined development, not markets or imperialism, which has spread productive capacity around the world. It also ensured that the hegemony of the UK would end and attempts to create that of the US would peter out into multipolarity. Part two of this book paves the way, advancing Geopolitical Economy as a new approach to the study of international relations and international political economy. Following on from the theoretical limitations exposed in Part I, in this volume the analytical limitations are explored.

The growing centrality of risk management in pro-market governance raises important questions regarding how risks are produced, and why? Who and what is included in, and excluded from, risk management, and why? And, what is the relationship between the rise of risk management and neoliberalism? Drawing on various political economy approaches, this volume addresses these questions by examining - both analytically and empirically - diverse meanings and practices of risk management across a range of scales and themes ranging from austerity to climate change to housing and debt. The authors investigate the relationship between shifts in contemporary capitalism and the ways in which neoliberal forms of risk management have emerged, been reproduced and normalized, and, transformed historically.

The economic growth in East Asia has been believed to be the model case of the triumph of capitalism. Some progressive economists, for example, the developmental state theorists, also praised the East Asian model as the progressive alternative to neoliberal market fundamentalism, arguing that they are the outcomes of state-led development. However, with the sudden advent of the ‘Lost Decade of Japan’ in the 1990s, and the ensuing ‘IMF Crisis’ of South Korea in 1997, and now the imminent ‘hard landing’ of the Chinese economy, the East Asian miracle story is quickly becoming a thing of the past. East Asia has now become an epicentre of the contradictions and crisis of global capitalism. Today, deepening economic crises, exacerbation of social polarization, rising popular discontents, and escalating geopolitical tensions are common to China, Japan and Korea. Moreover, East Asia has been at the centre of global ecological contradictions. Indeed, East Asia has now become the typical place of Marxian macro-dynamics. ;This important and timely volume brings together experts in political economy from across the globe, to comment on the return of Marxian macro-dynamics in East Asia. The contributions explore macro-dynamics, the role of the state and hegemony in the context of transnational capitalism, and Marxian alternatives for East Asia.

This volume explores the impact of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) on the environment of the Global South during this period of neoliberal globalization.  Since the end of the 1970s, the role of TNCs in the global economy has developed significantly, and the subsequent changes to international institutions and the establishment of free trade zones have limited the effectiveness of environmental protections. Drawing together contributions from several continents, this important book examines the environmental consequences and crises resulting from these changes. It highlights the negative impact on the environment, ecosystems and ways of living for many people across the globe and shows how this is reflected in the struggle between corporate interests, social movements and human rights. Developing key themes around transnational extractive activity, especially mining and oil corporations; the impact of transnational capital on indigenous or traditional populations, and the role played by international institutions, Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South is essential reading for all researchers and practitioners within the field.

Only after World War II did scholars move to theorize the distinction between the core countries at the center of capitalism and peripheral countries, often with an added distinction to include the semi-peripheral. Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems approach has been particularly important and led the term periphery into common scholarly parlance. Not surprisingly, much work remains to be done to untangle the extreme diversity and complexity of the political economies and resistances against the multidimensional cruelties perpetrated in the world’s many, very different peripheral contexts.  Class History and Class Practices in the Periphery of Capitalism addresses this need head-on. A first chapter lays a theoretical groundwork by showing that Marx, in his later life, became aware that historical developments are much more complicated than he originally conceived them to be, and he was not as far away from calling for site-specific analyses. Contributions here carry out just such analyses: they describe specificities for Russia, Portugal, Argentina, and Mexico, offer broader perspectives on post-hegemonic Latin America and Asia, provide detailed analyses of resistances across Africa, and reflect on the deeper meaning of neozapatismo for promoting a shift in the entire terrain of discussion.  Rich in theoretical depth and empirical rigor, and supplemented by an out-of-the-archive translation of Karl Katusky's theory of crises, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of political economy and international political economy, and it is of keen interest to anyone working to resist specific capitalist exploitations in their own place and time.

This collection of essays is designed to shed light on the issues of imperialism and the transitions to socialism. Written by eighteen contributors, from twelve countries and three continents, it is organized into two main parts. The first section delves into the theoretical aspects, the analysis of which is key for understanding the subject under consideration. The second part of the volume is focused on the examination of practical experiences of socialist transition, more or less advanced and with varying degrees of success, in China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil.Imperialism and Transitions to Socialism argues that countries wanting to embark on a socialist transition is not only a response to a spirit of justice, but also an answer to the call of reason: it is a question of survival for humanity, and for life. Socialism is not just a word, it is a struggle. It is not an end, but a transition process, long and difficult, that can take many paths towards the liberation of labour from the domination of capital. It is socialism, a society of solidarity, which walks with history.

In this 37th issue of the Research in Political Economy series, Jan Toporowski and leading experts offer a unique and insightful overview of Polish Marxism after Luxemburg, serving as an introduction to some key themes and the ideas of several Polish political economists.Polish Marxism after Luxemburg covers various ideas that emerged around the same period as Rosa Luxemburg was active, such as Ludwik Krzywicki who pioneered the study of monopoly finance capital and suggested the possibility of industrial feudalism. Chapters illustrate the current relevance of these thinkers and highlight the development from Polish Marxism of Michał Kalecki and Oskar Lange, who went on to become one of the founders of what came to be called the Keynesian Revolution in macroeconomics and economic policy. After exploring the relationship of Kalecki to Marxism, through the work of Luxemburg. Polish Marxism after Luxemburg also illuminates a selection of Polish discussions in the political economy from the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in the circle of political economists around Oskar Lange, like Włodzimierz Brus and Tadeusz Kowalik.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the nagging issue of the Global South's debt back into the spotlight. With declining export earnings and tax revenues, many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia have found themselves objectively unable to service their foreign currency debt. This situation, reminiscent of the international debt crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, is the backdrop of the 38th volume of the Research in Political Economy series edited by Ndongo Samba Sylla. In Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt, expert contributions connect the history of this issue with a range of factors including class dynamics, the changing landscape of sovereign debt markets, the global liquidity cycle, the enduring constraints of commodity dependence, ecological sustainability and the limitations of the current ad hoc sovereign debt restructuring procedures. In contrast to orthodox accounts that view debt crises in the Global South as a cyclical problem or as consequences of 'mismanagement' or 'fiscal irresponsibility'. Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt recognises the systemic nature of the Global South’s external debt, revealed only further by the economic uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the need to analyse it in relation to existing imperialist structures.

Drawing on the perspectives of both leading experts and early career academics from China, Senegal, Cuba, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK, this 39th issue of Research in Political Economy integrates, articulates, and discusses the concepts of value, profit, money, and capital within a common theoretical and empirical framework. Divided into four distinct parts, chapters highlight:the relevance of value in contemporary Marxist theorythe hegemony of the US dollar and its recent erosionmajor monetary problems currently faced by Africa as a result of colonial legaciesalternative monetary and financial tracks being tested in Latin America, including monetary regionalization and resistance to the domination of the dollarthe current state of national debt in the Global South, including possible solutionsthe difficulties in evaluating transnational corporate profit in the era of globalizationthe evolution of profit rates in the United States, Europe, and Latin America over the past several decadesa study of France's rate of profit over more than a centuryfictitious and financial capitalthe recent emergence of cryptocurrencies and some of the challenges that this entailsConnecting fundamental, theoretical, and empirical subjects with the most current scholarship on value, money, profit and capital today, this book makes sense of our increasingly interconnected global economy, highlighting key issues and proposing real-world solutions from the most knowledgeable researchers in the field.

Spanning three parts, Volume 40 of Research in Political Economy explores themes related to various “trajectories of declining and destructive capitalism” within the framework of contemporary Marxism. Social scientists from ten countries at various stages of their careers work to strengthen Marxism, applying its methods to the interpretation and, above all, the transformation of the world.The chapters cover five continents and thirteen countries: Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Senegal, South Africa, Lebanon, Iran, India, Papua New Guinea, and Chile in the current period or very near past – plus two other countries, China and Cuba, in their more distant past preceding their respective socialist revolutions.Providing a far-reaching and comprehensive overview of the damaging impact of capitalism across the globe, Trajectories of Declining and Destructive Capitalism confronts economic strategies at a pivotal moment in international politics.

The twelve papers collected in this volume of Research in Political Economy mark a new phase in the study of capitalism, centred on the reproduction of total social capital. They address the widely felt need to reconnect political economy with real-world phenomena, including financial crises, long-term stagnation, poverty, inequality, and economic injustice.Seeking to renew pluralist dialogue among all currents critical of the dominant neoclassical paradigm—particularly those aiming to move beyond the equilibrium framework that permeates it—the volume offers important new insights into Marx’s value theory. These constitute a significant addition to both the existing body of Marx studies and to a broader understanding of capitalist reproduction, accumulation, and the sources of their recurrent failures.This shared engagement rests on the recognition that the study of the circuit of capital can shed fresh light on the fundamental concepts of money, price, value, and credit, and on their role in explaining capitalism’s ‘laws of motion’: accumulation, historical origins, and reproduction itself. The volume thus advances critical debates and paves the way for future research on the dynamics of capitalist reproduction.

While animal suffering and abuse have taken place throughout history, the alienation of humanity from nature caused by the development of capitalism - by the logic of capital and its system of generalized commodity production - accelerated and increased the depredations in scope and scale.The capitalist commodification of animals is extensive. It includes, but is not limited to:livestock production in concentrated animal feeding operationsleather and fur productionthe ivory trade in which tusks are used for 'traditional medicines; or carved into decorative objectsentertainment such as in zoos, marine parks, and circuseslaboratory experimentation to test medicines, beauty products, pesticides, and other chemicalsthe pursuit of trophy hunting, sometimes on canned farms and sometimes in the wildbioengineering of livestock and of animals used in laboratoriesThe contributors to this special issue of Research in Political Economy provide insightful analyses that address the historical transformations in the material conditions and ideological conceptions of nonhuman animals, alienated speciesism, the larger ecological crisis that is undermining the conditions of life for all species, and the capitalist commodification of animals that results in widespread suffering, death, and profits. This book is a must-read not only for political economists, but also for researchers interested in animal studies, environmentalism, and sustainability.