Fundamentals of Political Economy 9781351714914, 9781315178967

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English Pages 536 Year 1977

Fundamentals of Political Economy
9781351714914, 9781315178967

Author / Uploaded
Martin Robertson

Table of contents :
Introduction by George C. Wang
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

“Youth Self-Education Series” Editors’ Note

1. Learn Some Political Economy
The Object of Political Economy
2. Social and Economic Systems Preceding Capitalism
Production Relations in the Primitive, Slave, and Feudal Societies
The Primitive Commune Established the Earliest Production Relations in Human History
Slavery Was the Earliest System of Exploitation
Feudalism Is Another Exploitative System Based on Class Conflicts
3. The Analysis of Capitalist Society Must Start from Commodities
Commodities, Money, and the Law of Value
The Commodity Relation Embodies the Seeds of All Capitalist Contradictions
Money Is a Natural Product of the Development of Commodity Exchange
The Law of Value Is the Economic Law of Commodity Production
Expose the Mystery of Commodity Fetishism
4. How the Capitalists Exploit and Oppress the Workers
Capital and Surplus Value
The Secret of the Exploitation of the Workers by the Capitalists
The Cruel Means by Which the Capitalists Exploit and Oppress the Workers
Wages Conceal the Exploitative Relation of Capitalism
5. The Widening Gap between the Rich and the Poor in Capitalist Society
Capital Accumulation and the Impoverishment of the Working Class
Capital Accumulation Increases the Exploitation of the Workers
The Unemployment of Workers Is the Inevitable Result of Capital Accumulation
Capital Accumulation Leads to the Impoverishment of the Proletariat
The Proletariat Is the Gravedigger of Capitalism
6. The Process of the Movement of Capital Is the Process of Exploiting and Realizing Surplus Value
The Circular Flow of Capital, the Turnover of Capital, and the Reproduction of Social Capital
The Circulation of Capital Passes through Three Phases and Takes Three Forms
The Turnover of Capital Is the Continual Production and Realization of Surplus Value
Capitalist Reproduction Is Realized Spontaneously amidst Antagonistic Contradictions
7. The Entire Bourgeoisie Exploits and Oppresses the Workers
The Division of Surplus Labor
Competition among the Industrial Capitalists Leads to the Equalization of the Rate of Profit
The Commercial Capitalists Share in the Surplus Value through Commodity Transactions
The Financial Capitalists Share in Surplus Value through Loans and Borrowings
The Landed Class Reaps without Sowing
8. The Incurable Disease of Capitalism
Economic Crises
Economic Crises Are a Product of the Intensification of the Basic Contradictions in Capitalism
The Worsening Tendency of Capitalist Economic Crises
Economic Crises Undermine the Basis of Capitalist Rule
9. The Unchanging Nature of Imperialism
Imperialism Is Monopoly Capitalism
Monopoly Is the Deep-rooted Economic Basis of Imperialism
Financial Capital Is an Omnipotent Monopolist
Capital Export Leads to World Domination by Financial Capital
The International Monopoly Alliance Carved up the World Economically
Competition among the Imperialist Powers for the Division and Redivision of the World
10. Imperialism Is the Eve of Proletarian Socialist Revolution
Imperialism Is Decaying and Moribund Capitalism
Imperialism Is Parasitic or Decaying Capitalism
Imperialism Is Dying Capitalism
11. Soviet Revisionist Social Imperialism Joins the Ranks of World Imperialism
Social Imperialism Is Socialism in Name but Imperialism in Substance
State Monopoly Capitalism Is the Main Economic Basis of Social Imperialism
Soviet Revisionist “New International Relations” Is Another Name for Neocolonialism
Soviet Revisionist Imperialism Is the Eve of a Second October Revolution
12. Socialist Society Ushers in a New Era in Human History
Socialist Society and Proletarian Dictatorship
Proletarian Revolution and Proletarian Dictatorship Are the Preconditions for the Emergence of Socialist Production Relations
The Socialist Society Is a Fairly Long Historical Stage
Socialist Society Constitutes the Beginning of People Consciously Creating History
13. The Socialist System of Public Ownership Is the Basis of Socialist Production Relations
The System of Socialist State Ownership and Collective Ownership by the Laboring Masses
The Socialist System of State Ownership Is the Main Economic Basis of Proletarian Dictatorship
There Will Be No Completed Socialism without Agricultural Socialization
The Socialist Public Ownership System Consolidates and Develops through Struggle
14. Establish Interpersonal Relations according to Socialist Principles
People’s Status and Their Interrelations in Socialist Production
People’s Status and Their Interrelations Have Undergone a Fundamental Change
Consolidate and Develop Socialist Interrelations in the Course of Struggle
The Immense Influence of the Superstructure on the Formation of Interrelations
15. Develop Socialist Production with Greater, Faster and Better Results at Lower Costs
The Nature and Goal of Socialist Production and the Means of Achieving This Goal
Socialist Public Ownership Has Fundamentally Changed the Nature of Social Production
The Basic Economic Law of Socialism Embodies the Most Essential Relations of Socialist Production
The Rapid Development of Socialist Production Is a Unity of Object Possibility and Subjective Initiative
16. The Socialist Economy Is a Planned Economy
Planned and Proportional Development of the National Economy
The Law of Planned Development Regulates Socialist Production
The Law of Value Still Affects Socialist Production
The National Economic Plan Must Correctly Reflect Objective Laws
17. We Must Rely on Agriculture as the Foundation and Industry as the Leading Factor in Developing the National Economy
The Relations among Socialist Agriculture, Light Industry, and Heavy Industry
Agriculture Is the Foundation of the National Economy
Industry Is the Leading Factor in the Socialist Economy
The National Economic Plan Must Follow the Order of Agriculture, Light Industry, and Heavy Industry
18. Frugality Is an Important Principle in the Socialist Economy
Practice Frugality and Economic Accounting
Frugality Is a Necessity in Socialist Economic Development
Economic Accounting Is an Important Means to Develop the Socialist Economy with Greater, Faster, and Better Results at Lower Costs
The System of Economic Accounting Is a Management System of the Socialist Enterprise
19. Exchange Is an Economic Form that Relates Production to Consumption
Socialist Exchange and Currency Circulation
Socialist Exchange Possesses Brand-new Qualities and Characteristics
Socialist Exchange Must Have Appropriate Forms of Organization
Money Must Be the Servant of Socialist Exchange
20. Correctly Handle the Relations among the State, the Collective, and the Individual
The Distribution and Redistribution of the Socialist National Income
The Socialist National Income Comes from the People and Is Spent on the People
The Important Role of Public Finance in the Distribution and Redistribution of National Income
The Proportional Relations between Accumulation and Consumption Are Overall Proportional Relations
21. How are Personal Consumer Goods Distributed in Socialist Society?
The Socialist Principle of “From Each according to His Ability, to Each according to His Labor”
“From Each according to His Ability, to Each according to His Labor” Is a Profound Revolution in the Distribution System
There Are Two Basic Forms of Distribution of Personal Consumer Goods
Nurture the Communist Labor Attitude
22. Mutual Aid and Exchange
The External Economic Relations of the Socialist State
External Economic Relations Are a Component of the Socialist State’s Foreign Relations
Foreign Economic Aid Given by the Socialist State Is an Internationalist Obligation
Actively Develop the Socialist State’s Foreign Trade
23. Communism Must Be Realized
From the Socialist Society to the Communist Society
Communism Is Irresistible
The Realization of Communism Is a Profound Social Revolution
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