> > I confess I find the whole FROP theory - at least the kind based on
> > the rising OCC - completely mystical and largely useless. The
> > "countervailing tendencies" Marx identified have largely done their
> > work. I'm happy to listen to arguments to the contrary, but I've yet
> > to be convinced.
> >
> > Doug
>
>Useless for what, though? Mystical how so? (I don't have a stake in those
>theories, just curious.)
Useless in that it's done a rather poor job of explaining the behavior of actual economies - you know, predicting the crisis that never arrives. Mystical in that I think that profit rates are determined more by competition, institutional/regulatory structures, and the state of the class struggle than the OCC. Like I say, I'm willing to hear arguments to the contrary, but I've never been persuaded yet.
Doug