French economist: Marx rules

Hakki Alacakaptan nucleus at superonline.com
Mon Jan 21 03:23:33 PST 2002


Patrick Artus, a respected economist at the Service of Economic Studies of the CDC, the public-owned French housing subsidy fund, is the author of a study in the service's newsletter "Flash" with the title "Karl Marx is back" (the title is in English).

Artus has studied the accumulation of productive capital in the US between 1992 and 2000. The study reveals that around 1996-97, as the ratio of productive capital to GNP continues to increase, the ratio of profits to GNP suddenly begins to fall. This confirms, says Artus, that the rate of profit will fall at a given stage of capital accumulation. Artus then shows that this fall of profitability can only be countered by reducing the part of variable capital - the cost of labor - through the creation of an industrial reserve army - i.e. unemployment. Artus concludes: "Everything indicates that profitability can only be stabilised in the U.S. at the cost of an increase of approximately 7% in unemployment, its post-recessionary level in 1993." ------------------------------------------- http://www.lemonde.fr/imprimer_article_ref/0,9187,3234--258451,00.html Parole d'économiste, "Karl Marx is back..."

• LE MONDE | 18.01.02 | 16h28

"Karl Marx is back", Patrick Artus CDC Ixis, étude "Flash", 4 janvier 2002 ------------------------------------------- Hakki



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list