falling rate of profit
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Capitalism’s fallen angels
In several previous posts, I have highlighted what are called ‘zombie’ companies (companies whose regular profits do not even cover the cost of servicing their outstanding debts) and so must, to paraphrase former BoE governor Mark Carney, depend on the kindness of their creditors”. An OECD study found that such zombies take up a frighteningly large part of the economy.… Continue reading
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Profitability, investment and the pandemic
Last week’s speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington was truly shocking. Powell told his audience of economists that “The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent”. One shocking fact that he announced was that, according to a special Fed survey of ‘economic well-being’… Continue reading
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The US economy before the virus struck
The purpose of this article is to determine the health of the US economy before it sickened from the virus. Why is this important? It is importance lies in this; the impact of the lockdown on the future of the US economy will be mediated by the state of the economy prior to the pandemic.… Continue reading
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Productivity, investment and profitability By michael roberts
Radical economic historian Adam Tooze recently tweeted that “Whenever I see figures for the decline in the (advanced economies) AE productivity growth rate I am left puzzling: do we really have an explanation? Do we really have an explanation?” Continue reading
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Invisible Leviathan – Marx’s law of value in the twilight of capitalism By michael roberts
The message of Murray Smith’s book is aptly portrayed by its title, Invisible Leviathan. The book sets out to explain why Marx’s law of value lurks invisibly behind the movement of markets in modern capitalism and yet ultimately explains the disruptive and regular recurrence of crises in production and investment that so damage the livelihoods (and… Continue reading
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TOWARDS A UNIFIED THEORY OF THE CAUSES AND LIMITS TO THE INDUSTRIAL CYCLE
Capitalism is society’s first chaotic industrial society which by tending to recurring crises demonstrates its transitory nature. Marx was not the first to note the industrial cycle, it was well known to Smith and Ricard. Marx provided a primary and subsidiary explanation for these recurrences, but because this explanation was disjointed, it led those who… Continue reading
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You Can Always Tell By S.Artesian
Leading indicator: Here’s how you know when an upturn in the economy is beyond its peak, has run its course; that the wolf at the door is actually a bear; that it’s time to head for the exits before they get nailed shut; that the next big thing in this world of, by, and for… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 