From: Mikalac Norman S NSSC <MikalacNS-AT-navsea.navy.mil>
Subject: RE: Actually it's potential/real, actual, experience
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 07:28:01 -0500


the post below is unclear to me.

are you saying that the profit rate falls but is overshadowed by other
events that hide that fact, or that the rate of profit both falls and rises,
or what?

norm

---------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking of the general tendency of the rate of
profit to fall.  My experience may tell me that we are
living in a "boom economy" and if people keep
spending, etc.  everything will be just fine (i heard
that on the news... also people shouldn't be scared
away by all the recession-speak generated by the
media).  

As a social scientist/economist, i may have data that
shows that the rate of profit does fall but that it
also rises.  As a critical realist/ marxist, however,
i may look at the totality and see that at the expense
of human suffering at many levels, war, etc. the
tendency is diverted by shunting/displacing the
problem to other levels (is this an actual
analysis?why? because i am 'absenting' other things do
figure out the base/basic levels).  

But (in the realm of the real), the tendency of the
rate of profit to fall remains at the core of the
capitalist system and remains one of its chief
contradictions.  There is lot of "interference" (to
use Viren's word), however, that hides this
ontological fact (or law) from me.  Few people know of
this problem and traditional econ courses and programs
ignore it (am i right Hans?).  

What do you guys think?

-Victor


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