In The Falling Rate of Profit and the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Peter H. Jones develops a new non-equilibrium interpretation of the labour theory of value Karl Marx builds in Capital. Applying this to US national accounting data, Jones shows that when measured correctly the profit rate falls in the lead up to the Great Recession, and for the main reason Marx identifies: the rising organic composition of capital.Jones also details a new theory of finance, which shows how cycles in the profit rate relate to stock market booms and slumps, and movements in the interest rate. He discusses the implications of the analysis and Marx and Engels’ work generally for a democratic socialist strategy.
Peter H. Jones is an independent scholar based in Canberra. He completed his Ph.D. in 2014 at the Australian National University, and has been active in many political campaigns, including for refugee rights and against cuts to health care and universities.
PrefaceList of Tables and FiguresAdvice to Readers1 Marx’s Value Theory and the Law of the Tendential Fall in the Rate of Profit1 The Development of the LTFRP and Its Significance2 Criticisms of the Law3 Summary2 Devaluation1 Formalisms, Models and Method2 Devaluation and Value3 Historical Cost, Input Cost and Output Cost4 Measuring Devaluation5 The MELT and Revaluation6 The Rate of Profit, the Rate of Accumulation and the Rate of Growth7 Conclusion8 Appendix: A Counter-example to the Okishio Theorem Using Current Cost Measures of the Rate of Profit3 Turnover Time and the Organic Composition of Capital1 Decomposing the Rate of Profit: Existing Approaches2 The Stock of Variable Capital3 The OCC4 Conclusion5 Appendix: Decomposing Changes in the Rate of Profit4 Surplus Value, Profit and Output1 The Forms of Appearance of Surplus Value2 Unproductive Labour3 Measuring Surplus Value after Unproductive Expenditures4 The Value of Labour Power5 Measuring Output6 Differences between the Total Price and Total Value of Output7 Surplus Value after Unproductive Expenditures8 Profits from Production9 Conclusion10 Appendix A: Accounting Definitions11 Appendix B: Decomposing Changes in the Rate of Profit from Production12 Appendix C: Decomposing Rates of Profit When the Value of Labour Power Is Not Equal to Its Price5 Marx on Finance1 Money Dealing and Interest-Bearing Capital2 Currency3 Social Relations and Interest4 Dynamics of the Interest Rate (I)5 Money Capital and Fictitious Capital6 Fictitious Capital and the Dynamics of the Interest Rate (II)7 Conclusions6 The Rate of Profit and Financial Rates of Return1 The Separation between Financial Profits and Profits from Production2 Fictitious and Non-fictitious Profits3 The Non-fictitious Financial Rate of Return and the Interest Rate4 Conclusion5 Appendix: Accounting Definitions for Financial Rates of Return7 Results1 Output and Surplus Value2 Measures of the Rate of Profit3 Why the Rate of Profit Fell4 The Rate of Profit and Financial Rates of Return5 The Rate of Profit and the Interest Rate over the Long Term8 Conclusions1 The Rate of Profit and the Great Recession2 Capital and Marx’s Value TheoryBibliographyIndex
