RFH. Episode 51: Marx’s Reproduction Schemes: Unbalanced Growth & Critique of Trickle-Down Economics

The co-hosts discuss Andrew’s paper, Marx’s Reproduction Schemes as an Unbalanced-Growth Model, which challenges decades of commentary on the schemes of reproduction in volume 2 of Marx’s Capital. According to the conventional wisdom, the schemes are equilibrium models, in which production of means of production and production of consumption goods grow at the same rate––either because that was Marx’s own view of capitalist accumulation or because he wanted to highlight the obstacles to balanced growth. Andrew and Brendan discuss the fact that the overriding purpose of the schemes was to refute Adam Smith’s trickle-down argument that all capital investment ultimately serves to increase employment and pay. Andrew notes the lack of evidence that Marx intended to model balanced growth, and he argues that the schemes actually depict unbalanced growth––a transition from a no-growth economy to a growing economy, which comes about by production of means of production growing faster than consumer production. He and Brendan discuss the fact that this is how capitalist development has indeed taken place, in country after country, and the fact that the modern balanced-growth view of the schemes contradicts the view of earlier commentators such as Lenin. The current-events segment focuses on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The government’s willingness to let the Afghan people, especially women, be oppressed by the Taliban shows that its aim was never humanitarian intervention. Reference is made to a recent article by Anne Applebaum, which includes a tweet from Yanis Varoufakis.