Off topic
The previous three articles discussed the types of structure of a market economy. The Marxist political economy textbook only explains the basic economic laws of Marxism on social production, capital, circulation, exchange, distribution, and consumption, and does not address specific but important economic issues such as the structure of the market economy. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that the era in which Marx and Engels lived was the early stage of industrialization in capitalist society. From the 20th century to the present, the global socio-economic situation has undergone tremendous changes. These are all things that Marx did not see.
You can't sing the high pitch of Marxist political economy on one side and equate economics with Western economics on the other. Analyze specific economic issues in full accordance with the Western economic point of view. It is the preacher, not the researcher, who reads from the script. It would also be wrong to equate economic policy with economic theory. In the field of economics and socialist market economics, there is still a lot of research work to be done.
The view of Western economics on profits
Western economics doesn't have much analytical discussion of profits. Its main points are excerpted below:
Manufacturer's profit, revenue, cost. Profit here refers to net profit (note: net profit, total profit, income tax expense).
The purpose of the manufacturer's business is to maximize net profit.
The net profit of the manufacturer is fully owned by its shareholders.
Costs are divided into fixed costs and variable costs. Among them, fixed costs generally include plant construction, machinery and equipment, etc., and have nothing to do with production and salesVariable costs generally include labor, raw materials and auxiliary materials, etc., which increase with the increase of production and sales.
The Marxist theory of surplus value
Marxist political economy does not have the concept of net profit, and the similar concept is "value multiplication". The capitalist process of production is the unity of the process of labor and the process of multiplication of value. The multiplication of value obtained through production is surplus value.
Marxism divides capital into constant capital c and variable capital v. Constant capital exists in the form of means of production, including machinery and equipment, raw materials and auxiliary materials, etc. (Note: raw materials and auxiliary materials are variable costs in Western economics). The value of the means of production is transferred to the product through manual labor, and the value after the transfer will not be greater than the original value (note: taking into account the loss of the production process, the actual value after the transfer is less than the original value).
In the capitalist production process, capitalists invest constant and variable capital, i.e. c+v. After the production process, the surplus value m is generated, and the product with the value of c+v+m is produced. The surplus value in it can only be generated by variable capital.
If we ignore cost factors such as interest, rent, and taxes paid by the manufacturer, the value of residual value is close to the value of net profit. However, Western economics believes that net profits belong to shareholders, while Marxism believes that only the living labor of industrial workers creates new value. The surplus value, which is supposed to belong to the laborers, is appropriated by the capitalists without compensation. Interest, ground rent (rent), and income from non-productive sectors such as commerce, transportation, finance, insurance, and services are all converted from the surplus value created by manufacturing labor.
The division of capital into constant and variable capital is of great significance in revealing the degree of exploitation of capitalists. An important indicator of the degree of exploitation is the rate of surplus value. There are two ways to express the rate of surplus value: one is the value notation. is the ratio of surplus value to variable capital (m v);The second is the notation of working hours, which is the ratio of surplus working time to necessary working hours.
What is the invisible hand?
The "invisible hand" is a metaphor proposed by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics. Later generations have made a further summary on this basis: in market economic activities, homo economicus makes rational choices according to the rational principle of homo economicus. These choices have gradually formed the best mechanism, supply and demand mechanism, and competition mechanism in the market economy. These mechanisms are like an invisible hand, which dominates everyone in the dark, consciously operating in accordance with the laws of the market.
The result and external manifestation of the supply and demand mechanism and competition mechanism of the market economy is product sales. Product sales** directly affect the net profit of manufacturers. For example, when ABC manufacturers produce 10,000 units, the average cost is 10 yuan, and when the product price is 12 yuan, the net profit is 20,000 yuan. (Note: In order to simplify the analysis, other non-productive costs such as interest, rent, and taxes are not considered, the same below).
In the case that other conditions remain unchanged, if the product price is 15 yuan simply due to changes in supply and demand and competition, the net profit will increase to 50,000 yuanOn the contrary, if the price of the product drops to 9 yuan, it will incur a loss of 10,000 yuan.
When the commodity fluctuates, the net profit of the manufacturer also fluctuates. Under ideal conditions, when the market reaches equilibrium, manufacturers obtain the average profit rate of society. For a capitalist economy, the main measure of the average rate of profit is the return on equity. If the product price is 12 yuan and the net profit is 20,000 yuan, the return on net assets of the ABC manufacturer is exactly the average return on net assets of the society, then when the price of the product rises to 15 yuan, the ABC manufacturer will produceExcess profits30,000 yuan.
When fluctuating, does the surplus value change or does it not change?
The author's answer is:No change
Using the example of the ABC vendor in the previous article, in order to facilitate the analysis of the core problem, the lengthy mathematical derivation is discarded here. When the market reaches equilibrium, the return on equity of ABC manufacturers is the average return on equity of the society. When converted to a surplus value system, the surplus value rate of ABC manufacturers is the average surplus value rate of society.
The core content of the Marxist law of value is that the value of commodities is determined by the socially necessary labor time to produce commodities, and the ** of commodities fluctuates up and down around value. According to the principle of the law of value, surplus value also belongs to the category of value, so it should not fluctuate with the fluctuation of **. That is to say,When commodities** fluctuate, the surplus value remains the same.
Who owns the excess profits?If there is a loss, who should bear it?
If the return on net assets of ABC manufacturers reaches the average rate of return on net assets, the rate of surplus value is exactly the rate of average surplus value of society. That is, under the condition of market equilibrium, the net profit is numerically equal to the surplus value.
When the price of the product rises to 15 yuan, the ABC manufacturer will generate an excess profit of 30,000 yuan. So the question is, who should own this excess profit?
According to Western economics, this question is easy to answer: excess profits are still owned by shareholders.
According to Marxist political economy, this question is difficult to answer directly.
To be sure, excess profits should not go to the workers at the ABC facility. The reason is simple: ABC factory workers create surplus value, but excess profit is the difference between variable capital and surplus value. When the product selling price** leads to excess profits, the value of ABC manufacturers' output is still C+V+M. However, at this time, the net profit of the ABC manufacturer is M+S (S is excess profit), which is more than the residual value. To sum it up briefly:Excess profits are generated by ***, and have nothing to do with the value of commodities and have nothing to do with the value created by labor.
On the other hand, if ** drops to 9 yuan, ABC manufacturers will incur losses. Although the surplus value created by ABC factory workers is still M, howeverDue to the decline in **, the surplus value is not realized, and the so-called surplus value is owned by the workers of the ABC factory and becomes a "blank check".
The wonderful result of really valuing the "invisible hand": being promising**
Like Western economics, Marxist political economy also acknowledges that under the conditions of a market economy, commodities are always in flux. That is to say,It is the norm for manufacturers to have excess profits or losses, which is the result of the "invisible hand" at work。According to Western economics, under the market competition mechanism, both excess profits and losses are borne by the shareholders of the manufacturer. This is the end of the analysis of Western economics. Capitalist countries believe in free competition in the market and generally do not intervene in the regulation of excess profits or losses.
Previous analyses have shown that the so-called market equilibrium in Western economics is based on a series of assumptions, some of which are clearly inconsistent with the real economy. Moreover, when conducting a market equilibrium analysis, it is necessary to further assume that other conditions remain constant. So if other conditions change, can we still get market equilibrium by relying only on free competition?As an economics enthusiast, I have not found any economic model that can still deduce market equilibrium after easing market conditions. From this, the author boldly judges:Under the actual situation of free competition in the market economy, there is no market equilibrium that can achieve the optimal allocation of resources and the best production efficiency.
Marxist political economy, on the other hand, studies social production, capital, circulation, exchange, and so onDistributionand consumption and other basic economic laws in economic activities. For the excess profits or losses of the primary distribution of the market, the countries that believe in Marxist political economy and the state and the country, after obtaining financial funds by taxing manufacturers to participate in the primary distribution, further realize the redistribution of national income through the state budget, bank credit, labor costs, changes, etc. That is to say,For those who believe in Marxism, it is precisely because they realize that excess profits or losses will occur under the invisible hand of the market, and they will be adjusted through policy means such as secondary distribution.
It should be noted that if the policy measures conform to the laws of the economy and are implemented in place, ** is an important force to promote the market to achieve equilibrium;However, if policy measures ignore the laws of the economy or are implemented in a skewed manner, they may become an important driver of greater market volatility. This is said to be a matter of feasibility. The feasibility of an action does not negate the necessity of an action.
The Basics 04