Marx and His Lazy Readers

"The problem is that Marx has smatterings of arguments about the instability of capitalism strewn about all four volumes of capital, and few readers have taken the time to compile and assess his claims. One of his arguments, made in Volume III and quite modern, indeed, is this:

The ultimate reason for all real crises [recessions/depressions] always remains the poverty and restricted consumption of the masses as opposed to the drive of capitalist production to [produce as much output as possible.] (p. 484)

This idea is now central to all modern mainstream theories, and interestingly, it is an insight into capitalist processes that is gathering considerable current attention. Many economists, including prominent ones in the U.S., are beginning to fear that the increasing inequality in the distribution of world income is creating just such a "restricted consumption of the masses." Such economists suspect that consequent underconsumption could bring the world economy into a serious depression, if not worse."

Charles Sackrey & Geoff Schneider