this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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El Chisme
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The capitalist class in Europe is devided about this. Like in a colony, where there is always a split between comprador capital and capital whose interests are aligned with national liberation.
I wonder if there is a way to measure or estimate how much of each type of capital exists in an economy. Maybe that could give us a better estimation of where the long-term intra-class conflict might lead.
Yes. I'm sure a reasonable way to estimate it could be found based on how capital is tied up in space and time. Local, slow circulating and high constant capital vs global, fast circulating and high variable capital. The latter might be more likely to side with or be subjugated by the empire. China is shifting to the former. (One problem is, that high constant capital firms are often also global.)
However, like in our own struggle, it's not enough to be a class that has a natural interest. You also need to be conscious of that interest to act on it. Consciousness might be forced by rising contradictions. But I don't feel like most of these national factions of capital would join a united front soon. Most of them might turn to open fascism first before they ally with us. It's an important question to explore.
Granted, maybe I'm oversimplifying here. Imperialism vs fascism. Aren't they two sides of the same coin? I'm sure there is a dialectic here. Still the question will inevitably pose itself and not just in Europe: with whom to ally as socialists? A united front against imperialism for national liberation even with factions of national capital? Or a popular front against facism even with liberals and social democrats? Even if either of them is formed successfully, both would try to betray us sooner or later. Or is there a third way ?
I really like that idea, and you csn take woodenghost's idea
to consider how you can categorize certain sectors in econmic data as being the material base for certain intra-class divisions within the bourgeoisie.
Obviously the below would be improved with better theory and actual data, but an initial idea could be distinguishing sectors like finance from sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, or mining.
The former (finance) may tend to be more cosmopolitan and/or have shared interests of American capital.
The latter may tend to have a more national characteristic. Due to the spatial nature of resource extraction, and the locality of the labor they exploit, their interests may be tied in more naturally with economic conditions "at home".
Then you can include known actors, groups, etc too.
At least thats an idea thay I've been exposed to.
Even if the above is too simplistic I think the idea of looking at particular sectors within economic data, and integrating that with known political groups and networks can be a springboard for answering that question.
Input output tables would have data on such sectoral divisions, but aren't the only answer. International input output tables would then tell you how each sector of capital depends on others on the global level.
Also, you're already working with input output tables (sorry I haven't been responding!) so extending what you've done to the international stage is the next natural direction.
Do you have any examples of such projects, sounds like you have some interesting stories (but obviously no pressure if it could dox you)
Yeah, I'm not certain who actually funds engineering firms or what their connections are - but first hand experience of people in the field, plus some real data would definitely help get an idea about that.
The conquest of small firms and the consolidation is part of capitalist development, though, it's the tendencies of capital concentration. These large dominating firms doing planning actually plants the seeds for socialism, though, even though they are currently private. That's an example of how labor is already being socialized under capitalism by huge monopolies, but it's organization or control, though, isn't socialized. (Growing contradiction between the socialization of labor and the private class ownership of it).
It is upsetting though when you can see the infrastructure for public engineering works being built - just to have it appropriated and used for private gain. I have definitely seen that contradiction play out at my own job! But, hey, that's why we need a revolution. The means of production are already being built and increasingly socialized already, but now they must be seized!
But I don't have much concretely to say about engineering firms - so if you have any details or thoughts feel free to share!