The US trade balance has been on a steady decline since 1970. Imports have outpaced exports by 3 percentage points of GDP. The domestic economy is not growing through exports (like Germany's is). In addition, per capita GDP has tripled since 1970. Corporate profits have risen astronomically over the same period. Since the early 1980s, the profit share has steadily increased, while the capital share has declined. The capital-output ratio has remained steady, matching the required rate of return on capital. In short, the narrative of a declining rate of profit as a source of economic volatility is unsupported by the evidence. It is certainly true that profits have been distributed upward at sharply increasing rates. But this is not due to any fall in the rate of profit; it is simply that, as Piketty put it, r > g. This "natural" tendency has of course been exacerbated by a series of policy choices aimed at safeguarding and enhancing capital's share of growth. This-rather than any "fundamental laws of capitalism" or the delirious talk of "neoliberalism"-largely accounts for the re-feudalization of the economy. It's the politics, not the mystical monster of Capital, that we need to worry about.
"It's the politics, not the mystical monster of Capital, that we need to worry about." Nope. It's capital that brings forth the monster in politics. Capital pays for politicians to do their bidding. Duh
@@ding-go "capital" is not an entity or agency; that notion has been debunked countless times. and even if it were, the idea that "it" pays for politicians would still be nonsensical, as we can clearly see in today's open conflict between corporate donors and GOP leadership. class conflict takes place within classes, not just between them. it's politics all the way down; there are no iron laws of history. if there were, the entire exercise of fighting against capitalism would be superfluous.
We're observing the natural "Fortress Mentality" (?), of standard bio-logical pulse-evolution differentiates, ie the vertically integrated reciprocation-recirculation universal self-defining renewal process of the Singularity-point "navigational" identification system, integrated with the global ecosystem, and "defenders" who believe economics is "Zero Sum" holistically, ..quite true if you are the whole world you recognise and predator-prey opportunities apply outside of your business life. So either we realise it's one world in which excessive predatory behaviour is killing us all and requires it to be appropriately moderated, or.. you know the rest... And so the "baked-in" Forever War of those who have power over those who don't, ..keeping negatively competing influences to a minimum, is more obvious to the "experience of years". Economists are like the Knights of old, paid performers. (Watch out for the Long Bow)
