[lbo-talk] Constant Capital and the Crisis in Contemporary Capitalism

[Michael Perelman]

I appreciate Wojtek's reference to Brenner.  His work on the transition 
to capitalism paralleled my own work on primitive accumulation.  The 
only time I met him was at a small meeting where we briefly exchanged 
words about mutual interests.  When his work on Turbulence came out, 
Doug suggested that it looks like much of it was lifted from my own 
writings.
I called Brenner and he explained to me exactly where his ideas came 
from.  Although our sources were different, our conclusions were more 
or less parallel.  The major difference from my approach is that his 
work emphasized nations as competitors and more or less limited subject 
matter to the industrial sector.  However, you are correct in saying 
that there are strong similarities.
Relative labor productivity falls because corporations resist replacing 
fixed capital. Incidentally, I'm convinced that the inattention to 
replacement investment is a major weakness in economic thinking.

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com