BREAKING: The WSJ reports that Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the troubled publisher behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, which has been facing crisis over the last year following numerous reports of sexual misconduct and discrimination. A seismic gaming deal— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 18, 2022
Half a century ago, when Marx was writing Capital, free competition appeared to the overwhelming majority of economists to be a “natural law”. Official science tried, by a conspiracy of silence, to kill the works of Marx, who by a theoretical and historical analysis of capitalism had proved that free competition gives rise to the concentration of production, which, in turn, at a certain stage of development, leads to monopoly. Today, monopoly has become a fact. Economists are writing mountains of books in which they describe the diverse manifestations of monopoly, and continue to declare in chorus that “Marxism is refuted”. But facts are stubborn things, as the English proverb says, and they have to be reckoned with, whether we like it or not. The facts show that differences between capitalist countries, e.g., in the matter of protection or free trade, only give rise to insignificant variations in the form of monopolies or in the moment of their appearance; and that the rise of monopolies, as the result of the concentration of production, is a general and fundamental law of the present stage of development of capitalism.
I'm emphasizing the point that is the only part of the quote that doesn't fit the modern day so closely you would think some really good Marxist author wrote it recently.
I spent five minutes searching for the right emote to express my anguish at that fact and then gave up because none seemed to fit quite right. My comment was too ambiguous without one it seems.
Capitalism leads to concentration of capital. Concentration of capital leads to Monopoly. Monopoly leads to imperialism. Imperialism leads to fascism. -Lenin Yoda
Half a century ago, when Marx was writing Capital, free competition appeared to the overwhelming majority of economists to be a “natural law”. Official science tried, by a conspiracy of silence, to kill the works of Marx, who by a theoretical and historical analysis of capitalism had proved that free competition gives rise to the concentration of production, which, in turn, at a certain stage of development, leads to monopoly. Today, monopoly has become a fact. Economists are writing mountains of books in which they describe the diverse manifestations of monopoly, and continue to declare in chorus that “Marxism is refuted”. But facts are stubborn things, as the English proverb says, and they have to be reckoned with, whether we like it or not. The facts show that differences between capitalist countries, e.g., in the matter of protection or free trade, only give rise to insignificant variations in the form of monopolies or in the moment of their appearance; and that the rise of monopolies, as the result of the concentration of production, is a general and fundamental law of the present stage of development of capitalism.
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"Half a century ago".
Yeah, it was half a century ago at the time Lenin wrote that
I'm emphasizing the point that is the only part of the quote that doesn't fit the modern day so closely you would think some really good Marxist author wrote it recently.
I spent five minutes searching for the right emote to express my anguish at that fact and then gave up because none seemed to fit quite right. My comment was too ambiguous without one it seems.
:lenin-cat: didn't miss
Capitalism leads to concentration of capital. Concentration of capital leads to Monopoly. Monopoly leads to imperialism. Imperialism leads to fascism. -Lenin Yoda
I’ll admit I become a bit of a fascist when I play monopoly, too.