The unity of the capitalist economy and state. A systematic-dialectical exposition of the capitalist system

Geert Reuten

Author: Geert Reuten
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.

Biographical Note

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.

Readership

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.

Table of Contents

Systematic-dialectical exposition by chapter Preface

General introduction

Part 1 The capitalist economy

The capitalist mode of production – the capitalist economy in general
Accumulation of capital
Finance of enterprises – the macroeconomic pre-validation and validation of production
Market interaction and stratified production
The cyclical over-accumulation and destruction of capital – business cycles

Part 2 The capitalist state

Introduction to part two: the capitalist state
The granting of capitalist economic rights – the capitalist state in general
Furthering the conditions for the accumulation of capital
State expenditure and its finance – effects on macroeconomic surplus-value and on the distribution of income and wealth
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