Capitalism,democracy and discrimination—The rise and decline of racism in cox’scaste,class and race

In his bookCaste, Class and Race, Oliver Cromwell Cox took positions on the link between capitalism and racism that appear contradictory; on the one hand he argues that racial exploitation emerged with the rise of capitalism, and on the other, that advancement of capitalism would reduce racial exploitation. This article analyzes this seeming contradiction from a Marxian perspective and argues that Cox failed to seriously consider the central organizing mechanism of capitalism—competition—to discuss the relation between capitalism and racism. To analyze race relations under any mode of production, the central organizing mechanism of that mode has to occupy a focal position. A failure to take account of that fact often results in political conclusions that, like Cox’s, are divorced from theoretical analysis and thus are weak and impractical.     

Gentlemanly Capitalism and Settler Capitalists: Imperialism, Dependent Development and Colonial Wealth in The South Island of New Zealand

This article engages with Cain and Hopkins' analysis of the British Empire, and the closely related literature of settler capitalism. For Cain and Hopkins, the Empire was dominated by gentlemanly rentiers, and the dominions were run by a dependent and collaborating elite. This paper rests in the first instance on a comprehensive analysis of wealthy settlers in the South Island of New Zealand. In noting that most settlers who became wealthy were not of gentlemanly origins, and that even those colonial financiers most closely tied to metropolitan capital pursued local agendas, it will suggest that the historiography under consideration needs to be balanced by a better understanding of the dynamic relationship between colonies and the metropolitan economy. The paper argues that settler capitalism is a model worth using, but that its utility will be greatly extended by a focus on settler capitalists as well as settler capitalism.     

The Future of U.S. Capitalism

In this work, Frederic Pryor tries to predict the future of U.S. capitalism through the year 2050. His laboriously constructed arguments, spread out over perhaps too many pages, offer the reader a decidedly downbeat future. Using a model that relies on three main dimensions—degree of governmental influence, degree of economic competition, and degree of social solidarity—he concludes that declines in economic competition and social solidarity may lead to a future where an oligarchic market economy may well prevail. While there is much to agree with in this effort, Pryors discussion is disproportionably devoid of the topics that are generally associated with the success of capitalism—namely, the issues of private property ownership, the efficiency of the price system, the role of the entrepreneur, and the benefits of competition. He argues that if capitalism is to survive, then individual self-interest, as we know it, will have to be replaced by a more communal type of decision making—one where people make decisions on the basis of mutual best interest.     

论美国虚拟资本主义的运行逻辑

当前,以美国为代表的资本主义进入了虚拟资本主义阶段。所谓虚拟资本主义,是指资本主义的经济主体从生产物质产品的工业转移到了游离于物质产品生产之外的金融业。美国虚拟资本主义之所以能够生存有两个前提条件：一是亚洲外汇储备能够稳定地流向美国;二是美国的金融资本能够很畅通地流向储备了大量美元外汇的国家。欧元推出后,亚洲外汇储备开始大规模地流向欧洲,从而动摇了美国虚拟资本主义生存的第一个条件;中国储备了大量美元外汇,但金融市场却没有完全开放,致使美国金融资本不能很畅通地流入中国,从而动摇了美国虚拟资本主义生存的第二个条件。美国虚拟资本主义遭遇到的这两个生存威胁是美国次贷危机发生的深层次原因。     

三种经济发展方式的考察与我国现阶段政策选择

本文认为,在资本主义、人本主义和物本主义三种经济发展方式中,资本主义是最强有力的,其次是人本主义,物本主义的力量是较为脆弱的。我国现阶段的发展状况决定:利用资本主义创造财富、利用人本主义促进人类社会发展、利用物本主义实现人与自然的和谐,政府应规强助弱实现三者的协调发展。     

前事不忘,后事之师——从苏联亡党亡国的教训看当今中国民主社会主义思潮的斗争

社会主义大国苏联解体是由于其领导人放弃科学社会主义,推行了一条错误的改革道路——民主社会主义,最终导致苏联亡党亡国。在当今中国建设有自己特色社会主义的进程中,民主社会主义者采用否定共产党的执政地位、鼓吹私有化、抹煞资本主义和社会主义区别的策略同科学社会主义进行斗争,本质是试图重演发生在前苏联的历史,和平演变中国的社会主义为资本主义。     

‘The rules of the game’: London finance,Australia, and Canada,c.1900–14

It is often asserted that, between 1865 and 1914, economic dependence on British capital subjected settler societies to an unofficial imperialism wielded by the City of London. This article argues that both advocates and critics of such models, particularly in the recent controversy over ‘gentlemanly capitalism’, pay insufficient attention to the City itself. Using the Edwardian City's connections with Australia and Canada, it illustrates the range of financial intermediaries involved and explores their perceptions of political economy in these countries. It concludes that the City's influence (or ‘structural power’) was limited by its internal divisions and hazy conceptions of political economy.     

科学认识现代资本主义与实践社会主义的替代关系

社会主义必然替代资本主义这一科学命题,是马克思根据人类社会发展的历史规律所作出的经典论断。但是,这种替代过程需要具备一定的经济、政治、社会和历史条件,需要经过一个错综、复杂、曲折、反复和漫长的过程。因此,必须树立科学的唯物史观,客观、公正地认识现代资本主义与实践社会主义的替代关系。     

Liquidity Constraints,the Composition of Government Expenditure,and Economic Growth

Abstract

This paper explains how and why the stock market, which is regarded as the embodiment of capitalism, has been allowed to develop and gain a prominent place among China's financial markets. That development has been consistent with the changing vested interests of the central government in its attempts to collect quasi-fiscal revenue from the financial sector, reflecting the stock market's growing importance as a tax-collection venue.     

Building an alternative economic network? Consumer cooperation in Scotland from the 1870s to the 1960s†

There is growing interest in the ways in which, and the values according to which, economic activity is undertaken. For instance, mutual ownership has been identified as one means of helping to ‘redeem’ capitalism. This article engages with such issues by examining aspects of the behaviour of consumer cooperative societies in Scotland from the 1870s to the 1960s. It starts by discussing whether cooperatives represent a means of conceptualizing and undertaking economic activity that provides an alternative to the paradigm of investor‐led (neo)liberal capitalism. From this, and an outline history of consumer cooperatives in Scotland, it identifies two variables—dividend on purchases and funds for education—as proxies for the values underpinning cooperatives’ economic behaviour. Analysis of these variables indicates the existence of distinct cultures of cooperation, notably in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas. The article concludes by offering two ‘lessons from history’ for those interested in alternative economic networks. The first is that cooperation can, and has, conceptualized and sustained an alternative to the dominant (neo)liberal economic paradigm. The second is that the scaling‐up of such voluntaristic economic thought and behaviour is unlikely to present a macro‐level challenge to it.     

Twentieth-century political economy: a brief history of global capitalism

Modern capitalism emerged in the early nineteenth century inwestern Europe and the European offshoots of the Americas andOceania. Recognizing the unparalleled dynamism of the new socio-economicsystem, Marx and Engels predicted in 1848 that capitalism wouldspread to the entire world. By the end of the twentieth century,that prediction was confirmed: capitalism had indeed becomeglobal, but only after a tortuous and violent course of institutionalchange in many parts of the world. This paper provides a briefaccount of the emergence of global capitalism, and discussessome of the reasons why the diffusion of capitalism has beenso conflictual and violently contested.     

邓小平的两个“为主体”说与资本主义剥削的“功”和“理”

邓小平的整个中国以社会主义为主体、大陆以公有制为主体的理论和以此为基础的社会主义初级阶段基本经济制度昭示出，一定范围内存在的资本主义剥削有功。但社会主义的本质是消灭剥削，因为剥削无理。邓小平的两个“为主体”理论和社会主义初级阶段基本经济制度，要求把资本主义剥削的“功”和“理”统一起来：不能由于剥削无理而否定资本主义经济及其剥削存在的现实合理性，也不能由于一定范围内存在的资本主义剥削有功而否定以公有制为主体。     

从经济全球化看当代资本主义的新变化和发展趋势

经济全球化是当今世界经济和社会发展的一个基本趋势。在经济全球化的背景下,当代资本主义出现了诸多新的变化,但是这些新变化并没有改变资本主义的私有制性质,因而也就不可能解决资本主义社会的基本矛盾。资本主义必然灭亡、社会主义必然胜利是人类历史发展的必然规律。     

马克思经济危机理论对社会主义市场经济建设的启示

马克思主义传统理论认为,经济危机根源于资本主义基本矛盾,是资本主义特有的经济现象。事实上经济危机的爆发是市场经济的正常现象,在我国社会主义市场经济运行过程中,同样具备了经济危机发生的基本条件和要素。所以,必须从规范市场、平衡供求、调整产业结构、改革金融体制、控制两极分化等多方面把握好宏观调控,在市场经济条件下及时转变政府职能,从而避免经济危机发生。     

Productivity and economic growth in East Asia: innovation, efficiency and accumulation

This paper uses a varying coefficients frontier production function model to examine the sources of growth between 1987 and 1993 in four East Asian economies—Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Using data for 20 manufacturing sectors at the three-digit SIC level, this study provides the first comprehensive examination of sources of growth that allows one to decompose total factor productivity growth, separating out technical efficiency changes (TECs) from technological progress (TP). We find that while there is ample evidence of the importance of increasing inputs in growth, and there is some support for technical efficiency change, or catching up to the frontier over this period, there is weak or even negative evidence for the role of technological progress, measured as a shift in the estimated production frontier.     

East Asian capitalism: Towards a normative framework 1

This essay attempts to identify the features of East Asian capitalism that seem, prima facie, to serve desirable social and political purposes while also being compatible with, if not beneficial for, the requirements of economic productivity in an age of intense international competition. It argues that East Asian countries should build on areas of competitive advantage instead of heeding calls to shed all the old ways of doing things in favor of American‐style shareholder capitalism.     

The state as the investor of last resort: a comparative study of banking crises in Denmark and Sweden

This article addresses the role of the state in bailouts, i.e. government objectives and measures during banking crises. Our main question concerns the incentives and measures that governments pursue in a state of a systemic banking crisis, and why they are launched. What have been the objectives and operations when a government has decided to act as an investor of last resort and take control of commercial banks? The answer is limited to cover the financial history of two countries. The study unveils government interventions in the latest crises in Denmark and Sweden, and critically analyse which objectives justified the setting up of organisations for financial stability. The two country-cases differ in terms of historical experience, context, and time-period. We compare intrinsic principles and perceptions for government intervention, with a focus on bailouts and state-owned banks. We argue that the implementation of measures dates back to the early phases of capitalism in the 19th century i.e. is part of a historical institutional pattern. The similarities shown indicate that there is an international standard for a public–private arrangement ensuring financial stability. Our results relate to the discussion of launching effective and legitimate state policies during and after a systemic banking crisis.     

以马克思经济危机理论解读当前的金融经济危机

马克思经济危机理论阐明了生产过剩经济危机是资本主义制度所特有的经济现象,是资本主义历史存在暂时性的确定证明,它将随着经济实践的发展而不断发展。马克思经济危机理论对目前正在发生的金融经济危机仍具有指导作用。     

Principles of a Pan-African economic ideology

Summary In this paper, an attempt has been made to integrate the politics of Pan-Africanism with its economic ideology. The basis and need for such an ideology has been explored. It has been argued here that the roots of underdevelopment in the Black World lie in the historical evolution of the world market economy; that continued participation in monopoly capitalism serves to reinforce the international inequality; and that the localization of economic activity by multinational firms within the Black World countries deepens internal inequality by suffocating the internal markets and impoverishing the indigenous class. It is argued further that the Absorption hypothesis, seeking wage employment in the “modern” sector for the army of unemployed being generated under international monopoly capitalism, is an hypothesis of the impossibility. The “modern” sector cannot expand fast enough nor adapt its techniques of production to absorb the unemployed.     

浅谈人的发展经济学的社会基础与研究的基本方向

人的发展经济学必须有其坚实的社会基础，把研究社会主义、发展社会主义物质文明和精神文明作为其学术方向，同时关注和研究资本主义过渡到社会主义时期经济促进人全面而自由发展的途径问题。在社会主义初级阶段实行计划经济，必须着力解决好生产资料社会化与生产力之间的矛盾；资本主义生产资料社会化程度的提高，有利于通过调整生产关系的其他方面来促进人的发展；约束资本、控制收入比例严重失调、发展机会的公平和均等、资源分配使用的合理等问题，是社会主义初级阶段实行社会主义市场经济下促进人全面而自由发展的大问题，必须着力加以解决。