Capitalist crisis
"The criterion of the expansion of production is capital itself, the existing level of the
conditions of production and the unlimited desire of the capitalists to enrich themselves and to enlarge their capital, but by no means
consumption, which from the outset is inhibited...
Since the circulation process of capital is not completed in one
day but extends over a fairly long period until the capital returns to its
original form... and great upheavals and changes take place in the market
in the course of this period, it is quite clear, that between the starting-point.. and... the end
of one of these periods, great catastrophesmust occur and elements of crisis must have
gathered and develop...” - Marx
Capitalist crisis shaped specially by the huge “financialisation” since
1980
And in Europe further shaped
by the clash between high
economic integration and
the division into many
states
From 1980, "fictitious capital" explodes (US figures)
Big expansion in trade in tickets to future surplus value
Bubble burst 2007-8. Not because of profits having fallen. But they did fall after.
Banks crashed or came near crashing worldwide
Is this a tale of good capitalists (industrial) vs bad capitalists (banks)?
Noooooooooooooo!1. Globalisation of production and distribution makes fluid and lively international financial dealings a capitalist necessity.2. Industrial corporations' "treasury departments" are big factors in the financial markets.3. The industrial capitalists extract the surplus value some of which the bankers then pocket.
States bailed out banks
Banks relatively bigger in Europe than USA
Irish bank bailout especially huge
"Banks are international in life but national in death"
Irish bank bailout especially huge
European Central Bank, unlike Federal Reserve, unwilling to intervene
Result in worst-hit countries: dance of death where banks bring down states, and states
bring down banks
Since euro, "peripheral" countries had grown faster with easier credit
but built up debts
EU and ECB strategy: crash wages and conditions in "periphery"
Other moves: OMT(The ECB will buy unlimited quantities of eurozone governments’ bonds... for governments which have officially requested it and
agreed to submit to a programme of cuts and economic restructuring).
Talk of EU budgets to promote growth in hard-hit areas; but...
Talk of a European banking union
Talk of Eurobonds (eurozone governments being able to use collective credit of
eurozone to borrow)
The answer?