Capitalist Equilibrium? 1 of 2

Is the current economic crisis a result of poor regulation? corruption? the FED? Or is it the manifestation of the inherent crisis tendencies within capitalism itself? This video builds an abstract model of a capitalist system and discusses what it would take for such a system to be in equilibrium. I then discuss why such equilibrium cannot be achieved.

Full text can be viewed at: http://kapitalism101.wordpress.com/capitalist-equilibrium/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• bail-out
• capital
• Capitalism
• crisis
• depression
• exchange
• libertarian
• marx
• money
• recession
• sub-prime
• surp
• value
• politics

[Catholicboy4life]

How do external costs of the capitalist (such as corporate tax, local council rates, rent on factory land) fit into the C-V-S formula? as often the capitalist would rais the price of a good to make up for these external costs.

[brendanmcooney]

Taxes and rent are a deduction from S (profits). The ability of a capitalist to raise prices above values depends on the amount of competition in the industry. Raising prices above values does not raise the total net profit of society. It only redistributes profits from some capitalists to others.

[jumpnjza2]

Was that Amy Goodman at 30 seconds?

[brendanmcooney]

Yes. That's her getting arrested at the RNC.

[pulsatingremedy]

@mart83648

Nobody said anything about an eternal zero-sum game.

[mart83648]

The only problem here is that capitalism isn't a zero-sum game

[mikemat3307]

There is a difference between "money" and "currency".

[mikemat3307]

Money is a commodity. In a free banking regime, currency, or "notes" would represent a specific amount of a specific commodity, such as gold, silver, or wheat. Notes are redeemable on demand. Currency would not be based on the "full faith and credit of the US government" but on the ability of a private bank to honor its notes. The moment a bank can not honor its notes, is it placed into receivership, and its assets are auctioned off with the proceeds going to depositors first.

[johnTconover]

As workers do not receive equal energy (monetary) value for labor and/or the owners of the means of production sell products/services above the embodied energy value, the sum nominal value of all goods and services always exceeds the sum energy income of the worker/consumer. Every product sold for profit extracts energy (money) from the labor class. The profit system was never and can never be in energy equilibrium. Its over, growth and thus profit is tapped out. Entropy always wins.

[3DNC]

The issue is not really capitalism at all. It is corporatism (business partnering with gvmt). Also the idea you can borrow and print your way out of recessions, better know as Keynesian economics just put off the inevitable. The FED can monetize debt, and other countries like China want Americans to have credit so they will consume. The core of the issue really is the Federal Reserve Act, as they manipulate the market. They create too much credit, print money and devalue savings. Support HR1207!

[jumpnjza2]

What a legend.