>
> Was this because of the relatively fixed and monopolistic character of the
> steel industry? And I mean here a "real" monopoly - as in one based on a
> sort of rent on land. I mean I couldn't exactly start a steel plant in South
> Dublin. This would tie into my criticism above. Namely, that in Brenner's
> conception (now I'm really putting words in his mouth) base commodities may
> not be at issue. The overproduction may be taking place at the "second
> stage" of production - for want of a better phrase - the stage where
> competition becomes essentially absolute.
> (Sorry, for the questions, but might as well push this as far as it goes...)
It's fun speculating about the contents of the article but it's been a while since I read it and you might be better off just reading the original. :) Let me know if you need me to send you the pdf. But IIRC the argument revolved around exactly the opposite, that fixed capital in the steel industry was more fluid and less fixed than we might think.
Unfortunately I don't have time right now to go back and read the critiques again or do them justice in writing summaries. But I highly recommend them to you, just to get a broader set of arguments. Brenner is hardly the only person to put profit rates at the centre of the explanation of the 1970s crisis - hell, even the neoclassical Bruno and Sachs' [1985] 'Economics of Worldwide Stagflation' does that. But a lot of people dispute his explanation for them - see the pieces by Dumenil and Levy in HM [1999] and Dumenil, Glick and Levy [1999] in Capital and Class for clear formalisations of where Brenner differs from other explanations. And a lot of people dispute the idea that profit rates have continued to be dismal and that movements in them are somehow behind the immediate crisis.
Again, the two Historical Materialism issues devoted to Brenner in 1999 have most of the lines of critique that have continued over the years. Again, I can send the pdfs if you don't have library access. I wish HM would get their issue out on the crisis, because I hear it's going to have another round of Brenner and his critics. But it's not out yet.
Sorry to bow out on this one, but I am really pressed for time and just can't do a debate justice. Might jump back in when I get a chance.
Cheers, Mike Beggs scandalum.wordpress.com