An Anarchist FAQ - Section C - What are the myths of capitalist economics?

Posted Sat, 2010-01-23 22:45 by Chuck

An Anarchist FAQ

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Section C - What are the myths of capitalist economics?

Introduction

C.1 What is wrong with economics?

    C.1.1 Is economics really value free?

    C.1.2 Is economics a science?

    C.1.3 Can you have an economics based on individualism?

    C.1.4 What is wrong with equilibrium analysis?

    C.1.5 Does economics really reflect the reality of capitalism?

    C.1.6 Is it possible to have non-equilibrium based capitalist economics?

C.2 Why is capitalism exploitative?

    C.2.1 What is "surplus-value"?

    C.2.2 How does exploitation happen?

    C.2.3 Is owning capital sufficient reason to justify profits?

    C.2.4 Do profits represent the productivity of capital?

    C.2.5 Do profits represent the contribution of capital to production?

    C.2.6 Does the "time value" of money justify interest?

    C.2.7 Are interest and profits not the reward for waiting?

    C.2.8 Are profits the result of innovation and entrepreneurial activity?

    C.2.9 Do profits reflect a reward for risk?

C.3 What determines the distribution between labour and capital?

C.4 Why does the market become dominated by Big Business?

    C.4.1 How extensive is Big Business?

    C.4.2 What are the effects of Big Business on society?

    C.4.3 What does the existence of Big Business mean for economic theory and wage labour?

C.5 Why does Big Business get a bigger slice of profits?

    C.5.1 Aren't the super-profits of Big Business due to its higher efficiency?

C.6 Can market dominance by Big Business change?

C.7 What causes the capitalist business cycle?

    C.7.1 What role does class struggle play in the business cycle?

    C.7.2 What role does the market play in the business cycle?

    C.7.3 What else affects the business cycle?

C.8 Is state control of money the cause of the business cycle?

    C.8.1 Does this mean that Keynesianism works?

    C.8.2 What happened to Keynesianism in the 1970s?

    C.8.3 How did capitalism adjust to the crisis in Keynesianism?

C.9 Would laissez-faire policies reduce unemployment, as supporters of "free market" capitalism claim?

    C.9.1 Would cutting wages reduce unemployment?

    C.9.2 Is unemployment caused by wages being too high?

    C.9.3 Are "flexible" labour markets the answer to unemployment?

    C.9.4 Is unemployment voluntary?

C.10 Is "free market" capitalism the best way to reduce poverty?

    C.10.1 Hasn't neo-liberalism benefited the world's poor?

    C.10.2 Does "free trade" benefit everyone?

    C.10.3 Does "free market" capitalism benefit everyone, especially working class people?

    C.10.4 Does growth automatically mean people are better off?

C.11 Doesn't neo-liberalism in Chile prove that the free market benefits everyone?

    C.11.1 Who benefited from Chile's experiment?

    C.11.2 What about Chile's economic growth and low inflation?

    C.11.3 Did neo-liberal Chile confirm capitalist economics?

C.12 Doesn't Hong Kong show the potentials of "free market" capitalism?