In The unity of the capitalist economy and state, Geert Reuten offers a systematic exposition of the capitalist system, showing that the capitalist economy and the capitalist state constitute a unity. In its critique of contemporary economics, the book argues that in order to comprehend the capitalist system, one requires a full synthetic exposition of the economic and state institutions and processes necessary for its continued existence. A synthetic approach also reveals a range of components that are often obscured by partial analyses. In its systematic character, Reuten’s work takes inspiration from Marx’s provisional outline of the capitalist system in Capital, while also addressing fields that Marx left unfinished – such as the capitalist state.
Geert Reuten, Ph.D. (1988), teaches political economy at the University of Amsterdam’s School of Economics. He has authored two books (including Value-form and the state, with Michael Williams, Routledge 1989), edited six books and published seventy articles in academic journals and books.
Systematic-dialectical exposition by chapterPreface
Part 1 The capitalist economy
1 The capitalist mode of production – the capitalist economy in general 2 Accumulation of capital 3 Finance of enterprises – the macroeconomic pre-validation and validation of production 4 Market interaction and stratified production 5 The cyclical over-accumulation and destruction of capital – business cycles
Part 2 The capitalist state
Introduction to part two: the capitalist state 6 The granting of capitalist economic rights – the capitalist state in general 7 Furthering the conditions for the accumulation of capital 8 State expenditure and its finance – effects on macroeconomic surplus-value and on the distribution of income and wealth 9 The imposition of competition 10 The reach of the capitalist state
Part 3 The international capitalist system
11 The international capitalist system
Part 4 Summary and additions
12 General summary and conclusions 13 Synopsis of the main systematic moments of the capitalist system 14 An outline of systematic dialectics – General appendix
Bibliography List of symbols, abbreviations, signs and equations Glossary of field-specific terms Index of names Index of subjects Index of main empirical graphs and tables
Scholars and advanced students in political economy, economics, political science, social geography, sociology, and the philosophy of these sciences, and readers interested in a synthetic exposition of the capitalist system.