"The Long Depression" - Michael Roberts

Amazon link

I've been impressed by Michael Roberts's blog posts, on the right sidebar here in the web view. He is insistent that lack of profitability is both the proximate cause of crises and the underlying reason for long depressions, such as the one we're currently experiencing. He is also prepared to make predictions.

So this seemed to be the book to get (published in July 2016) to learn more about his thinking. Here's the Amazon summary.

"Setting out from an unapologetic Marxist perspective, The Long Depression argues that the global economy remains in the throes of a depression. Making the case that the profitability of capital is too low, and the debt built up before the Great Recession too high, leading radical economist Michael Roberts persuasively presents his case that this depression will persist until the profitability of capital is restored through yet another slump."

Here is Michael Roberts talking on "Economic crisis and the long depression" at Marxism 2017:

Roberts talks for 33 minutes - he's interesting, rather tribal, but can perhaps be forgiven in the circumstances. Then there are a number of questions/contributions from the floor until at 54 minutes Roberts again takes the microphone to respond.

His most interesting point is at 1 hour 3 mins when he gives the example of Venezuela as a government which was trying to implement populist measures 'outside the envelope' of what is possible within a capitalist economy. The economy crashes, of course.

Two minutes later he's comparing the situation there with a possible Corbyn government taking office during the predicted next recession. The divergence between what will be promised and what will be possible will be extreme. Roberts is understandably skeptical about 'post-capitalism in one country', seeing the modern economy as inherently global in scale.

But what lesson are we to draw from this? It's a very stupid general who marches the proletarian troops to battle knowing they are to be slaughtered. Yet the idea of global socialist revolution starting via a Corbyn victory in the UK is risible.

So, Michael Roberts, what is to be done?

I suspect that Roberts is well aware that capitalism still has a way to go before immanent contradictions lead to its supersession. The driver for that will not be voluntaristic vanguard parties (hello, SWP?) but the trend to total automation.

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I'll let you know what I think: it's competing with Steve Keen's book and Capital Vol 2 at the moment. But I think it's a priority.