Discussion of New MHI Pamphlet, “Can Income Redistribution Rescue Capitalism?: On Monthly Review’s Factual and Theoretical Myths” by Andrew Kliman
Marxist-Humanist Initiative hosted a public discussion in New York City on Sept. 16 on Andrew Kliman’s just-published pamphlet, “Can Income Redistribution Rescue Capitalism? : On Monthly Review’s Factual and Theoretical Myths.” The new work challenges Monthly Review’s account of the latest capitalist economic crisis.
The claims made by the Monthly Review school have dominated the U.S. Left’s thinking for decades, but the pamphlet argues that its account of the crisis, and others that similarly attribute the crisis to rising income inequality, are riddled with a great many serious deficiencies – factual, theoretical, and political. The pamphlet suggests that the crisis is instead rooted in the decades-long decline in profitability and associated problems within capitalist production. What is at stake is whether the prevalent Left goal of income redistribution could actually solve the current economic crisis and prevent the recurrence of similar crises. Before embracing such notions, it would do us all good to carefully scrutinize the factual and theoretical claims that underlie them.
The discussion began with talks by Brendan Cooney and Andrew Kliman, followed by audience discussion.
Contents of the pamphlet:
“More Misused Wage Data from Monthly Review: The Overaccumulation of a Surplus of Errors”
“‘The 99%’ and ‘the 1%’ … of What?”
Selections from The Failure of Capitalist Production : Underlying Causes of the Great Recession
The Underconsumptionist Intuition
Baran and Sweezy’s Logical Error
Whither Underconsumptionism?
“Trickle-Up” Economics and its Political Implications
Available for $8 plus $3 shipping in the U.S. Purchase on our literature page, or by sending payment to MHI, P.O. Box 414, Planetarium Station, New York, NY 10024.
For orders outside the U.S., write for information to mhi@marxisthumanistinitiative.org
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