Marx on money, public debt and the management of accumulation

Abstract

This article offers a Marxist analysis of forms of value in capitalist economies, and their implications for accumulation, (in)stability, and economic policy. The study argues, first, that there is an intrinsic tendency towards an increasing complexity of value forms in capitalism. Examination of the development of these forms of value helps to map the contradictions of accumulation at increasingly complex and concrete levels of analysis, and trace the emergence of specifically financial forms of instability and crisis. Second, state management of accumulation through fiscal and monetary policy and the domestic public debt are essential for economic stability, but their effectiveness remains limited, and crises may be transformed or postponed, but not always avoided. Third, monetary and financial structures, their relationship with production, and capacity to stabilise (or destabilise) accumulation are historically and institutionally specific. Fourth, government policy can affect the level and composition of output and employment, and the distributional and other outcomes of accumulation.