Capitalism; Imperialism; Saving and investment; Socialism
But all this, as Rosa Luxemburg remarks, is just arithmetic.[23] The
only point of substance which she deduces from Marx's numerical examples
is that it is always Department I which takes the initiative. She
maintains that the capitalists in Department I decide how much
producers' goods to produce, and that Department II has to arrange its
affairs so as to absorb an amount of producers' goods which will fit in
with their plans.[24] On the face of it, this is obviously absurd. The
arithmetic is perfectly neutral between the two departments, and, as she
herself shows, will serve equally well for the imagined case of a
socialist society where investment is planned with a view to
consumption.[25]
But behind all this rigmarole lies the real problem which she is trying
to formulate. Where does the demand come from which keeps accumulation
going?
She is not concerned with the problem, nowadays so familiar, of the
balance between saving and investment. Marx himself was aware of that
problem, as is seen in his analysis of disequilibrium under conditions
of simple reproduction (zero net investment).[26] When new fixed capital
comes into existence, part of gross receipts are set aside in
amortisation funds without any actual outlay being made on renewals.
Then total demand falls short of equilibrium output, and the system runs
into a slump. Contrariwise, when a burst of renewals falls due, in
excess of the current rate of amortisation, a boom sets in. For
equilibrium it is necessary for the age composition of the stock of
capital to be such that current renewals just absorb current
amortisation funds. Similarly, when accumulation is taking place,
current investment must absorb current net saving.[27]
It is in connection with the problem of effective demand, in this sense,
that Marx brings gold-mining into the analysis. When real output expands
at constant money prices, the increasing total of money value of output
requires an increase in the stock of money in circulation (unless the
velocity of circulation rises appropriately). The capitalists therefore
have to devote part of their savings to increasing their holdings of
cash (for there is no borrowing). This causes a deficiency of effective
demand. But the increase in the quantity of money in circulation comes
from newly mined gold, and the expenditure of the gold mining industry
upon the other departments just makes up the deficiency in demand.[28]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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