FROP etc

[Dace]

>Rakesh Bhandari wrote:
>
>>So The first point (and there are many things to be said here) is that
>>however much surplus value (or net output) is projected to rise due to
>>bringing on such cheaper equipment, it has to be sufficient to cover
losses
>>on that old capital brought into being under less productive conditions.
>>The absolute growth of capital requires a rate of surplus value large
>>enough to cover both the new investments and the devaluation of the
>>existing capital.
>
>Which I take has happened, since capitalism has survived for the last
>several centuries.
>
>Doug

If you take into account the proto-capitalism that emerged in the wake of
the collapse of Medieval civilization, it's been going on for over 600
years.  The constant during this era is expansion of Western society into
new lands.  It actually got going within Europe itself, as Christendom
steadily penetrated into the original Western frontier-- the Iberian
Peninsula.  Spain and Portugal, which resulted from this conquest, extended
it to the New World.  Next we had the westward expansion of the United
States, out of which was born American imperialism, which manifests today
with the forced liberalization of economies throughout the South.

At some point this is going to end, right?  There won't be any more markets
to pry open.  Populations will level off.  Everyone will be integrated into
a global market.  What happens then?  Could FROP be a description of
cyclical crisis during times of expansion and terminal crisis when the
party's over?

Ted