Abstract
The central problem in capitalism today is not one of scarce resources clashing against innate, insatiable wants. Rather, the modern problem of monopoly capitalism is one of abundance of production clashing against scarcity of consumers. Indeed, sustaining growth while fighting against excess capacity proves to be the biggest battle in business today, fought by the capitalist power structure with the tools of neoliberalism and globalization. The economic surplus, roughly sketched, represents that gap between productive resources and consumption, and thus represents the abundance that is possible given current technology. The argument set forth is that the economic surplus remains a powerful tool in describing economic relationships and social justice issues within the context of the Great Capitalist Restoration, but more importantly, that the economic surplus represents a tool for social change. The potential for socially just amelioration and change within post-neoliberal governance is explored with explicit reference to the qualitative and instrumental framework proposed by Ron Stanfield in his somewhat overlooked but incredibly important piece, “The Fund for Social Change” (1992).
Highlights
The central problem in capitalism today is not one of scarce resources clashing against innate, insatiable wants
The modern problem of monopoly capitalism is one of abundance of production clashing against scarcity of consumers
Sustaining growth while fighting against excess capacity proves to be the biggest battle in business today, fought by the capitalist power structure with the tools of neoliberalism and globalization
Summary
The central problem in capitalism today is not one of scarce resources clashing against innate, insatiable wants. The threat of excess capacity and idle capital stock makes the creation of wasteful output – be it through marketing expenditures or the stockpiling of military armaments – a necessary and profitable endeavor These outlets for surplus funds are made all the more attractive by virtue of their inability to expand productive capacity and compound the excess capacity problem (Foster, 1984). One reaction of monopoly capital in the increasingly saturated market place is to develop finer market segmentation to support further product differentiation Such marketing endeavors serve a two-fold purpose: one, to act as a means of surplus fund expenditure in a non-productive capacity, and two, to enhance invidious distinctions and commodity-driven identity.
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