interesting mainstream economic commentators?

[Max Sawicky]

>>> Max Sawicky <sawicky at epinet.org> 03/07/00 10:58AM >>>
. . .
PPS:  I've just asked Petchy what the Marxist theory of insurance was, and
got a long explanation (apparently the Russian textbooks have only been
translated into Spanish and Slovenian, so his paper is one of the few
English lang. refs).  It transpires that, according to the Critique of the
GOtha Programme, insurance premium is the only form of surplus-value that
persists under communism -- because the surplus held by society against
risks has to, by its nature, be extracted before a crisis actually happens.
. . .
what about surplus value for investment?
Doesn't the state try to accumulate some
capital?  Only in a good way, of course.
**********
CB: Not "capital". Capital is a relationship in which the laborer is
exploited. And "accumulation" of capital is the main goal of the exploiting
capitalists in capitalism.

Socialism aims to develop social ownership of the basic means of production,
so there are basic means of production "accumulated", but not in the sense
that capitalists accumulate it as private property. . . .
>>>>>>>>>>>
Call if whatever you like, but my q was is it surplus
value, like the insurance premium?

mbs