Spiral Reversal of Capitalist Development: What Does It Imply for the Twenty-First Century?

Abstract

The attempt to reinterpret history in terms of its phases of development closely reflects our efforts to understand the contemporary age and to gain perspective on the future. It should be our common concern to characterize the current period of crisis and restructuring since 1973 from the point of view of phases of capitalist development. For this purpose, the preceding phase of high economic growth lasting about a quarter century particularly needs to be re-examined. As the issues surrounding the phases of capitalist development are most suitably approached from Marxist political economy, it is helpful first to start with a brief review of the classic concerns in the literature on periodizing capitalism, beginning with Marx himself.