On 5/15/15 4:11 PM, Eugene Coyle wrote: > http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/upshot/dont-be-so-sure-the-economy-will-return-to-normal.html?emc=edit_tnt_20150515&nlid=9633259&tntemail0=y&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1 > >
Interesting. I was grappling with the same issues 3 years ago: The expectations that American, European and Japanese capitalism will somehow come out of the current crisis on a stronger and more vibrant basis seem grounded more on habits of mind rather than hard reality. It is entirely possible that these economies will recover but not on the basis described by Engels or Schumpeter. Unemployed auto workers or computer programmers cannot be assured of being swept along in a new upward cycle. It is entirely possible that the reserve army of the unemployed will never be called into action for the 21st century equivalent of Ford Motor in the 20s and 30s, or IBM in the 50s and 60s. That goes a long way in explaining why there has been a recent drop in unemployment as more and more Americans have given up trying to find a job. These are members of the reserve army who have simply torn off their uniforms and gone AWOL. The myth of “creative destruction” was sustained for many years by the unquestionable dynamism of 20th century capitalism. As we slouch toward an uncertain future in the current century, such a myth must be disposed of once and for all. The only destruction worth considering in a positive way is that which will occur as a mobilized humanity takes up arms against the modern aristocracy, defeats it, and then tosses it into the ashcan of history. As daunting a prospect this might seem, we have no alternative. http://louisproyect.org/2012/01/17/mitt-romney-karl-marx-and-the-myth-of-creative-destruction/ _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
