Explain the bookclub: We are reading Volumes 1, 2, and 3 in one year and discussing it in weekly threads. (Volume IV, often published under the title Theories of Surplus Value, will not be included in this particular reading club, but comrades are encouraged to do other solo and collaborative reading.) This bookclub will repeat yearly.
This week's reading is shorter than most.
I'll post the readings at the start of each week and @mention anybody interested. Let me know if you want to be added or removed.
Just joining us? You can use the archives below to help you reading up to where the group is. There is another reading group on a different schedule at https://lemmygrad.ml/c/genzhou (federated at !genzhou@lemmygrad.ml ) which may fit your schedule better. The idea is for the bookclub to repeat annually, so there's always next year.
Archives: Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7 – Week 8 – Week 9 – Week 10 – Week 11 – Week 12 – Week 13 – Week 14 – Week 15 – Week 16 – Week 17 – Week 18 – Week 19 – Week 20 – Week 21 – Week 22 – Week 23 – Week 24 – Week 25 – Week 26 – Week 27 – Week 28 – Week 29 – Week 30 – Week 31 – Week 32 – Week 33 – Week 34 – Week 35 – Week 36 – Week 37 – Week 38 – Week 39
Reading's going fine, but I'm just going to talk about a tangential subject on interest, that I should dealt with understanding, chapters ago
spoiler
I'm just trying sense of the principal sum, or 100%, when financial capitalists initially loan to industrial ones
When the loan is used by the industrial capitalist to buy his constant capital, and used to help produce commodities, along with the labor he bought of his own personal fund,
say the constant capital (holder of old variable labor) and labor (surplus value + variable capital) = 140% of the original
Now, when bankers returns to ask for their principle plus interest, let's say 5%,
140% = commodity value =
100% constant capital, the part needed to be paid to the lender
20% variable capital
15% surplus, due to 5% interest
5% interest, to be paid to the lender
And although their principal and interest is to be paid, the industrial capitalist still owns capital of 120, that can be exchanged for cash and reinvested again, and actually has an increase in net capital by 15?
Doesn't the constant capital depreciate as it transfers its value to the commodities? Wouldn't he just be exchanging 120 for 15?
Am I understanding this right, just to clarify? Or am I wrong? I'm confused...
Unclear pronoun antecedent here, who are you saying is exchanging 120 for 15? The industrial capitalist or the financier?