Isn't this a version of Say's Law (Supply produces its own demand), which Marx mocks? As I understand Marx, the production of commodities is a function of a need to realize value, thus accumulate capital, which can only of course be done if demand is effective, but the accumulation of capital and the production of commodities continues frenetically regardless as the capitalist attempts to recover the sunken costs (to switch jargon here) of his capital investment. Where demand is lacking and value is not realized as profit the individual capitalist goes belly up or the system goes into crisis. I am clearly following Brenner here, but I think Brenner has this right. Of course I might be wrong about everything, as usual.
--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Apr 1, 2007, at 11:05 PM, bhandari at berkeley.edu
> wrote:
>
> > The production of commodities is not governed by
> demand; rather demand
> > is a function of accumulation undertaken in the
> pursuit of ever
> > greater
> > quantities of surplus value.
>
> That's consistent with Keynes's idea of effective
> demand, no? I.e.,
> capitalists make demand effective through their
> spending on
> investment and wages.
>
> Doug
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