Positive Profit without Exploitation: A Comment on F. Petri's Note

Abstract

However, his example is based on an extreme assumption that the capitalists' propensity to consume, c, is unity. If, like Marx, we instead assume that c 0. To show this we use the generalized von Neumann model [2, 3], of which Petri's example is no more than a special case with c = 1. Assume c 0. By the two Lemmas to the Generalized Fundamental Marxian theorem [1], we know that e > 0 implies IrW > 0 and gC implies e > 0. Hence e > 0 rr > 0 ro > 0 gO > 0. Conversely 7r°> 0 g° > Ogc > 0 e>0O. Thus e>0 0 O. Thus, provided the capitalists save at least a part of their incomes for accumulation, the Generalized Fundamental Marxian Theorem holds not only for the warranted rate of profit and the capacity rate of growth but also for the equilibrium rate of profit and rate of balanced growth.