Give Karl Marx a Chance to Save the World Economy: George Magnus

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Policy makers struggling to understand the barrage of financial panics, protests and other ills afflicting the world would do well to study the works of a long-dead economist: Karl Marx. The sooner they recognize we’re facing a once-in-a-lifetime crisis of capitalism, the better equipped they will be to manage a way out of it.

The spirit of Marx, who is buried in a cemetery close to where I live in north London, has risen from the grave amid the financial crisis and subsequent economic slump. The wily philosopher’s analysis of capitalism had a lot of flaws, but today’s global economy bears some uncanny resemblances to the conditions he foresaw.

Consider, for example, Marx’s prediction of how the inherent conflict between capital and labor would manifest itself. As he wrote in “Das Kapital,” companies’ pursuit of profits and productivity would naturally lead them to need fewer and fewer workers, creating an “industrial reserve army” of the poor and unemployed: “Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery.”

The process he describes is visible throughout the developed world, particularly in the U.S. Companies’ efforts to cut costs and avoid hiring have boosted U.S. corporate profits as a share of total economic output to the highest level in more than six decades, while the unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent and real wages are stagnant. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-29/give-marx-a-chance-to-save-the-world-economy-commentary-by-george-magnus.html

[MisterP]

1. there's been a surge of neo-Marxists amidst all the neolib triumphalism

trying to chart a way forward for both Marxism and the people (and creatures) of this world--Derrida, Carl Freedman, Steven Shaviro, Sherryl Vint, Phillip Wegner, John Rieder, Fredric Jameson, together with the older Marxist hobbyhorses Zizek and Eagleton

[pnorman]

2. K&R, for careful study later.

n/t

[Starry Messenger]

3. k&r

[LooseWilly]

4. Ironically, though the writer cites Marx's accurate prediction of the broad strokes of the problem..

he certainly isn't arguing for Marx to "Save the World Economy."

"So how do we address this crisis? To put Marx’s spirit back in the box, policy makers have to place jobs at the top of the economic agenda, and consider other unorthodox measures. The crisis isn’t temporary, and it certainly won’t be cured by the ideological passion for government austerity. ..."

In other words... the article suggests another "Keynes"-like round of action simply to prevent outbreak of the solution predicted by Marx for the catastrophe (accurately) predicted by Marx.

Marx is just a Boogey Man in this article...