The Contradictions Of Capitalism. Interview With David Harvey

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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The first contradiction of capitalism may be stated simply:

The rate of exploitation

is both a sociological and economic category. It expresses capital’s social and political power over labor, and also capitalism’s inherent tendency toward a realization crisis, or crisis of capital over-production.

What was David Harvey’s theory?

A Marxist critique of Harvey’s theory of UGD

He shows that

the landscape of capitalism, including UGD

, is a product of twin processes of capitalist accumulation and pro-business policies of the state, although popular struggles which seek to use space and place in their own interests play a limited role.

What is capitalism Harvey?

Harvey explains how capitalism came to dominate the world and why it resulted in the financial crisis. He describes that the essence of capitalism is its amorality and lawlessness and to talk of a regulated, ethical capitalism is to make a fundamental error.

What are the crisis of capitalism?

An economic crisis in capitalism is

a deep and prolonged interruption of the economy-wide circuit of capital

. Crises emerge from within the logic of capitalism’s operation, and are manifestations of the inherently contradictory process of capital accumulation.

What is the contradiction of capitalism?

The first contradiction of capitalism may be stated simply:

The rate of exploitation

is both a sociological and economic category. It expresses capital’s social and political power over labor, and also capitalism’s inherent tendency toward a realization crisis, or crisis of capital over-production.

What are Marx’s criticisms of capitalism?

Marx viewed

capitalism as immoral because he saw a system in which workers were exploited by capitalists

, who unjustly extracted surplus value for their own gain. If the Labour Theory of Value doesn’t hold, neither does this contention.

What does Marx say about capitalism?

Karl Marx saw

capitalism as a progressive historical stage that would eventually stagnate due to internal contradictions and be followed by socialism

. Marxists define capital as “a social, economic relation” between people (rather than between people and things). In this sense they seek to abolish capital.

What is Marxist ideology?

Marxism is a

social, political, and economic philosophy

named after Karl Marx. It examines the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and economic development and argues for a worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favor of communism.

What is the neo Marxist theory?

Neo-Marxism is

a Marxist school of thought encompassing 20th-century approaches that amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory

, typically by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions such as critical theory, psychoanalysis, or existentialism (in the case of Jean-Paul Sartre).

What do you understand about the Marxist ideas in geography?

Marxist geography is a strand of critical geography that uses the theories and philosophy of Marxism to

examine the spatial relations of human geography

. … To fully understand geographical relations, on this view, the social structure must also be examined.

Is crisis inherent in capitalism?

That

capitalism has inherent crisis tendencies

is a central claim of Marxism. … When economic crisis leads to mass unemployment, business failures, homelessness, even hunger, neoclassical economists point the finger at the state or bad luck.

How does David Harvey define postmodernity and time space compression?

David Harvey

Harvey coined the term “time–space compression” to

refer to the way the acceleration of economic activities leads to the destruction of spatial barriers and distances

. … According to Harvey, it is this compression of social time–space through economic activity that is the driving force behind globalization.

What is David Harvey theory of uneven geographical development?

The Marxist geographer, David Harvey, has written extensively and

influentially about the production of space under capitalism

and, in particular, uneven geographical development. … While Harvey connects uneven geographical development to capitalist crisis, his theory of crisis is deeply inadequate.

Is capitalism an answer to recession?

The popular sentiment of financial analysts and many economists is that

recessions are the inevitable result of the business cycle in a capitalist economy

. The empirical evidence, at least on the surface, appears to strongly back up this theory.

Why does capitalism have a crisis?

In order to survive, each

capitalist must make profits

, and therefore an endless stream of commodities must be pumped into the market. Eventually the market reaches a breaking point as it becomes saturated by commodities that cannot be sold; the system ends up in crisis – crises of overproduction.

What are the negative effects of capitalism?

However, despite its ubiquity, many economists criticise aspects of capitalism and point out is many flaws and problems. In short, capitalism can cause –

inequality, market failure, damage to the environment, short-termism, excess materialism and boom and bust economic cycles

.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.