>From Ralph Johnson //Michael: I see all sorts of contradictions (the business press would call them problems) cropping up: the conclusion of a housing bubble, excess debt, speculative excesses in general, the balance of trade deficit, aggregate demand, etc. Isn't it appropriate to wonder how these things will play out? Is that really orthodoxy to return to the subjects?//
Two things: l. geopolitics - the fear that control over resources, terms of trade and the levers of commerce are slipping from US elite's grasp, despite the "free" trade agreements, manipulation of proxies such as UN, World Bank, IMF, Davos - and the efforts to rectify, militarily but likely soon more economic concessions which inevitably exacerbate the slippage, even unto disastrous collapse. 2. the possibility that we are, consequently, (and I would add many more contradictory indicia, including not only implacably worsening environmental factors but structurally irremediable mass unemployment globally, even in capital-accumulating China - see Davis's Planet of Slums) in the midst of a crisis of structural rather than conventional cyclical proportions for capitalism, as Istvan Meszaros has diagnosed. These conditions may also tie into the increasing elite consensus on domestic authoritarian measures, as administration moves to head off growing internal disunity in the face of developing generalized crisis. Certainly glad to see this sort of discussion finally developing here. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
