POLI 364 Lecture : POLI 364 - Lecture (Feb. 14th/16th)
10 Mar 2012
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Luxemburg -> defending her argument concerning capitalist accumulation (her argument being that economic growth is a fiction) Capitalist production: must replace the means and materials of production. Eg. the capitalist produces the system of capitalist exchange: must reproduce the means of subsistence. Eg labour, the capitalist: must produce means to expand production. This is where the surplus value is funneled. Luxemburg argues that capitalism has not made individuals wealthier in a monetary, per capita basis. She believes that one has more material goods, because of capitalism, but that these goods are worth less than in the pre-capitalist age, and that the goods are divided amongst more individuals, further diluting their value. This appearance of economic growth is actually economic redistribution. Capitalist accumulation = production on an expanding scale. Just because one capitalist can sell her goods does not mean that all capitalists can as well.
