Marx’s Big Idea

Nick Potts

Chapter 3 in Corporate and Social Transformation of Money and Banking, 2011, pp 56-70 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract In the above quote Marx is condemning capitalism as an inherently flawed system. Moneymaking, the valorization/self-expansion of capital, is the sole purpose of the capitalist system, with the workers’ (the society of producers) interests being completely secondary. Production is not simply for consumption; production is an end in itself. Capitalism does deliver technological progress, but, rather than this simply improving all’s wellbeing, the means of production are concentrated in the hands of capitalists, increasing inequality. Furthermore as capital expands it comes up against a barrier of its own making, as we shall explain, in the form of a tendency for the rate of profit to fall as capital is accumulated in boom. Cyclical crises are inevitable, capital must be sacrificed to restore the profit rate and again allow capital to be accumulated at a faster rate. Capitalism is historically necessary to create the material foundations (level of development/technology) on which a superior form of society can be created, with capitalism’s life span being limited precisely because of its inherently flawed nature. Marx’s economics certainly leads Marx to a revolutionary conclusion, and, given that we have not moved on to a superior form of society, economists must have scientifically superseded Marx’s analysis in the 125 years since his death?

Keywords: Political Economy; Sole Source; Dualistic Approach; Human Labour; Commodity Exchange (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pmschp:978-0-230-29897-2_3

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230298972_3

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