Charles: "can't get around the fact that the mass of wage laborers are only paid so much, and it is always less than enough to buy all the consumer commodities which they produce"
[WS:] Did not they try to "get around" this by expanding credit availability to the mass of wage laborers and, one may add, homeowners? And it worked for a while with fabulous results- capitalists made like bandits. Of course, there is the question of how long it will work, but as Keynes commented, in the long run we are all dead. Nothing stops the future generations from playing this musical chair game again.
Wojtek
^^^^^ CB: Yes, Marx's analysis , of course, takes account of this role of credit. However, as we see with downturns that are triggered by financial sector crashes ( 1929 and 2008) , credit only delays the day of reconning (spelling). In the case of the 2008 crash, there wasn't enough money in the hands of the mass of consumer debtors, especially victims of predatory lending, to pay their loans. This is one of those iron laws of capitalist motion. The more surplus value the bourgeoisie exploit , the less money in the hands of the mass of consumers ( who are also the exploited , which is why the money they have is limited). The more surplus value the banks accumulate, the less effective mass demand. It's a fundamental contradiction of the capitalist system which cannot be avoided.