Download Thoroughly Modern Marx

Thoroughly Modern Marx
Leo Panitch
Foreign Policy
May/June 2009
1. Marxism and Political economy
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Major principle of Marxism—the dialectical
and materialist concept of history.
Major thoeries of political economy:
The theory of surplus value.
The relation between productivity and
superstructure (social relationship).
The nature of capitalism—imperialist
expansion for market, vicious competition
resulting in economic crises.
2. Macroeconomic indicators
GDP: the total domestic output of a country or region.
(2) Capital investment: total amount of investment of a
country or region.
(3) Trade volume: total amount of domestic selling and
buying of a country or region.
(4) CPI: Consumer price indice, indication of inflation.
(5) PPI: Producers price index, indication of inflation.
(6) Unemployment rate: index of economic situation.
(7) Aggregated demand: index of market demand.
(8) International trade: total amount of import and export
of a country or region.
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3. Main ideas
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Introduction: Marx was far ahead of his time in
predicting the fateful factors of globalization.
Marx’s predictions.
The financial sector.
Social isolation and passivity of the public.
Proposals to deal with the financial crisis.
Democratization of economy.
Conclusion: the progress is uncertain.
4. Structure: A critical essay
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Introduction (Para. 1-2)—Marx’s predictions—
ahead of his time.
Background (Para. 3-5): Marx’s theories.
Analysis (Para. 6-7): Analysis of the financial sector.
Analysis (Para. 8-9): Analysis of social relations.
Analysis (Para. 10-13): Analysis of the proposals
made.
Analysis (Para. 14-15): Analysis of the
democratization of economy.
Conclusion—the progress is uncertain.
5. Questions on Computers Vs.
Brains
What are the major differences between
computers and brains?
(2) What are the advantages and disadvantages
of the brains?
(3) What happens if we build a computer that is
comparable to a brain?
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