The Negative Of Capital

The complex exposition of the concept of economic crisis in Capital and its preparatory manuscripts gave rise to different interpretations about the causes and modalities of crises themselves. Are their causes chronic under-consumption, inter-sectoral disproportionality or a fall in the profit rate? Are they merely possible or absolutely inevitable? Jorge Grespan’s work renews these traditional debates by treating the concept of crisis as the negative of the concept of capital. By means of a thoroughgoing exposition of Marx’s masterwork, his book reconstitutes the steps by which Capital’s exposition progressively enriches its content and form. To this end, dialectical categories such as measurelessness and relative necessity are mobilised and developed.

Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul? The American economy is dragging, with unemployment rates rising and consumer debt hitting $2.5 trillion. Many people are in deep and need help. Here, a Certified Financial Planner explains the mathematics of debt; strategies to deal with credit card, mortgage, student, and other loans; why debt consolidation and taking loans from a 401(k) can lead to problems; truths about bankruptcy; and how to use debt while eliminating it. • Includes essential resources and websites, sample letters and forms, loan forgiveness programs, bankruptcy resources • Author a Certified Financial Planner • Covers every kind of debt, mortgages to credit cards to student loans • National credit card debt is growing exponentially

Central banks may operate perfectly well without capital as conventionally defined. A large negative net worth, however, is likely to compromise central bank independence and interfere with its ability to attain policy objectives. If society values an independent central bank capable of effectively implementing monetary policy, recapitalization may become essential. Proper accounting practice in determining central bank profit or loss and rules governing the transfer of the central bank’s operating result to the treasury are also important. A variety of country-specific central bank practices are reviewed to support the argument.

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In this work the author analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

This handbook attempts to address the political and social learning needs of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in India. It develops thematic gender focused training modules on a range of subjects, including social mobilization and use of social capital formation for ushering development of a network of women PRIs at the grassroots level.