For this industrial production and consumption, the larger the scale of production, and with the concentration and centralisation of capital, leading to the replacement of the private capitalist by socialised capital, and Taylorist scientific management, the more these mammoth capitals are forced to borrow from the future mode of production. They must plan their production; they must integrate their own production with that of their suppliers; and increasingly, these mammoth socialised capitals, on whose fortunes the fortune of the state depends, are led to the need for the state to undertake macro-economic planning and regulation, to create the optimum conditions for long-term capital accumulation. In other words, they depend on the development of a social-democratic state.
But, this is not just the case in relation to industrial consumption. A large supermarket holds far more stock than a corner shop, but the supermarket replaces dozens of small shopkeepers, and, relatively, it holds less stock, because that stock is frequently being replenished by suppliers.
“... the shopkeeper likewise enjoys the benefits of the speed of communications first of all, and secondly, the certainty of a continuous and rapid renewal and delivery. Although his stock of commodities may grow in size, each element of it will remain in his reservoir, in a state of transition, for a shorter period of time. In relation to the total amount of commodities which he sells, that is, in relation to the scale of both production and consumption, the stock of commodities which he accumulates and keeps in store, will be small.” (p 286-7)
Marx gives an example of what might be considered a 19th century precursor to the Just In Time concept of today.
“Since ships continually ply between Liverpool and the United States—speed of communications is one factor, continuity another—all the cotton supply is not shipped at once. It comes on to the market gradually (the producer likewise does not want to flood the market all at once). It lies at the docks in Liverpool, that is, already in a kind of circulation reservoir, but not in such quantities—in relation to the total consumption of the article—as would be required if the ship from America arrived only once or twice a year, after a journey of six months. The cotton manufacturer in Manchester and other places stocks his warehouse roughly in accordance with his immediate consumption needs, since the electric telegraph and the railway make the transfer from Liverpool to Manchester possible at a moment’s notice.” (p 287)
Under these conditions, unless markets become glutted, the building up of stock then only arises as a consequence of speculation. In other words, if for some reason producers believe that the prices of their inputs may rise, they may buy in stocks, in the hope of obtaining capital gains, and competitive advantage. Similarly, suppliers may hold on to their output if they think market prices are about to rise.
Marx cites Lalor, in The Economist, as detailing the extent of this fall in stocks, in relation to total output, as well as Corbet, who saw this process as leading to a situation where supply always exceeds demand, which led him to the conclusion that market value is determined by the most efficient producer, not the average producer.
“Sismondi wrongly saw something lamentable in all this”. (p 287)
No comments:
Post a Comment