Chapter 8: Money as a Means of Payment
Credit relations separate the act of buying from the act of paying. Therefore, the development of credit gives rise to a new function of money: money as a means of payment.
Category: Economics
Syria Falls to Pro-Imperialist Forces
On December 8, 2024, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government collapsed before an offensive of U.S.-backed HTS rebels. The rebels call themselves Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham [HTS, in English: Organization for the Liberation of the Levant].
Assad was forced to flee the country after the Syrian Arab army put up little resistance to the pro-U.S.-NATO rebel offensive, ultimately finding refuge in Russia. HTS’s central leader is Ahmed al Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al Julani. HTS consider themselves Sunni Muslims strongly opposed to other Islamic sects, such as the Shia and Alawites, as well as to other religions, including Christians and Druze. According to the HTS, all these religions and sects worship the “one true God,” in the wrong way.
Previously, al Sharaa was a member of al-Qaeda, the group founded by Osama bin Laden — the same group credited with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building on 9/11/2001. The attacks killed thousands of people in the United States and were the declared target of George W. Bush’s “war on terror.” But times have changed, and today, HTS and al Sharaa are pictured by the imperialists and their media as moderates who can bring Western-style democracy and religious tolerance to the Syrian people.
When the media describes a group as moderate, it means they are doing what the U.S. imperialist world empire wants them to do. During the final days of the HTS advance to Damascus, the Israeli air force provided them with air support. U.S.-supplied Israeli forces bombed military bases and the headquarters of Syrian intelligence in the center of Damascus. The Israelis struck bases that housed Syrian troops and stockpiles of weapons that the Syrian army might have used to defend Damascus (this included the Mezzah Air Base).
Missiles, Minerals, and Money
There have been a series of dramatic developments over the last several weeks. The most dangerous being the collapse of Syria’s Baath Party government and its replacement by imperialist-backed rebels who emerged out of Al Qaeda and ISIS. This removes Syria from the axis of resistance that supported the Palestinian resistance.
We have also seen an imperialist-backed attempt to overthrow the government of the country of Georgia, and in Romania, a right-wing, anti-NATO candidate won. The U.S.-NATO-backed Romanian regime solved this problem by having the constitutional court throw out the election.
There has also been an attempted coup by South Korea’s president to restore the dictatorship that dominated the country before 1987.
Donald Trump, Once Again the Chief of World Imperialism
We can’t help it! Donald John Trump is again the chief of world imperialism. Is Trump a good representative of the U.S. capitalist ruling class? He is not only a capitalist but also a large landowner.
Given that the primary focus of this blog is economics, it is essential to address both of Trump’s roles.
The Trump Organization, his main enterprise, appropriates surplus value by buying land in Manhattan (New York City) and other large urban areas. It hires construction companies to erect skyscrapers that increase in height in alignment with the continually escalating urban ground rents. As these rents climb, the Trump family gets richer.
Profit Squeeze
Chapter 2: Profit Squeeze
Basic formula of capitalist production
The basic formula of capitalist production is M—C…P…C’—M’. (1) Industrial capitalists begin with a sum of money M. They must then find on the market the elements of productive capital — both constant capital (factory buildings, machinery, and raw and auxiliary materials) and variable capital (labor power), the only commodity that produces surplus value. The productive capital, both constant and variable, is represented by C.
Modern Underconsumption Theories
Chapter 1: Modern Underconsumption Theories
The first underconsumptionist theories were put forward by pre-Marxist bourgeois economists such as Sismondi and Malthus. As trade unions developed, these theories gained considerable support among their members and supporters.
Crisis Theories
Section 1: Crisis Theories
The Debate Among the (Bourgeois) Economists About the Possibility of a General Glut of Commodities
Even before the first general capitalist crisis hit the world market in 1825, a debate occurred among the political economists on whether or not a general glut of commodities was possible. On one side were J.B. Say, James Mill (father of John Stuart Mill), and David Ricardo; on the other side were Simondi de Sismondi and Thomas Robert Malthus
Gang Warfare
For weeks following Israel’s murder of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, the world wondered if (and when) Iran would retaliate. Haniyeh was heavily involved in diplomatic activity to end Israel’s genocidal bombing in Gaza. He had been in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezehkian.
Iran was widely expected to react by launching a drone and missile counterattack on Israel as in April, but this time to causing greater damage. Much to the surprise of most observers, Iran took no military action. It seems that the Iranian leaders were engaged in intense diplomatic activity to arrange a ceasefire to end, or at least suspend, Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign on Gaza.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese political-religious resistance organization, was also negotiating for a ceasefire. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was one of the most popular and respected political leaders in Lebanon.
A Marxist Guide to Capitalist Crises
Editor’s Note
In 2010, a project was announced to compile the main posts into a PDF eBook.
By 2015, an update on the eBook’s status indicated that the first draft had been completed, with 37 chapters organized into seven sections, a general introduction, and individual introductions for each section. The update suggested that the project was expected to be finalized within the following year, 2016.
However, as is often the case, unforeseen circumstances delayed the project until now.
The second draft of the eBook, building upon the 2015 first draft, has been finalized and is currently being prepared for publication.
In the coming weeks, we will share the completed chapters on this blog between our regular postings.
Elections, Genocide, and a Federal Reserve Cut
Recent polls confirm that the U.S. presidential race is extremely tight between Kamala Harris – supported by the Party of Order, including prominent Republicans such as Bush’s warmongering and powerful Vice President Richard Cheney – and Donald Trump. While many individual capitalists support Donald Trump, the really big money is behind Harris. This gives Harris a considerable advantage. When the big money deserted Genocide Joe Biden earlier this year, he was forced out of the race. The big money wasn’t concerned about his support of Israel’s Gaza genocide. The money bags didn’t believe Biden could win after his disastrous performance in the June 27 “debate” with Trump.
Polls taken on the eve of the September “debate” between Harris and Trump showed the election either even or leaning toward Trump, though Harris took the lead afterward. (1)
Trump, however, can still win. What determines the presidential election in the U.S. is not the popular vote but the vote in the electoral college. The electoral college strongly favors Republicans. There is a good chance that Harris will win the popular vote – though this is far from certain – only to lose to Trump in the electoral college. This is exactly what happened in 2016 when Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by two million votes, but Trump carried the electoral college.
(1) I put the word “debate” in quotation marks because the “debates” between the Democratic and Republican candidates for president exclude all third-party candidates. Actually, these are not debates as traditionally defined about contending policies but instead are more like commercial, promotional advertisements aimed at deceiving the listeners. For example, in the September 10 debate, neither Trump nor Harris denounced the U.S.-supported genocide in Gaza. Instead of seriously discussing foreign, domestic, or economic policy in these debates, the rival candidates concentrate on putting their opponent in the worst light possible while trying to drum up enthusiasm for their personal qualities. The Democratic and Republican candidates use deception and, when necessary, outright lies to do this. A poster supporting Harris declares: “Vote Joy 2024.”