Michal Kalecki and Rosa Luxemburg on Marx’s Schemes of Reproduction: Two Incisive Interpreters of Capitalism

Abstract

Both Rosa Luxemburg and Michal Kalecki utilised Marx’s scheme’s or reproduction as the starting point of their analysis of economic dynamics. However, Luxemburg did not realise that they were not meant to serve as models of capitalist growth, but rather to show that the conditions for stable growth were unachievable. Luxemburg was an early proponent of the stagnationist thesis which was popularised by Kalecki, Steindl, Baran and Sweezy. She argued that capitalist economies were doomed to stagnate unless markets outside the capitalist arena could be utilised, although she also acknowledged the importance of government expenditure on armaments. Kalecki, while acknowledging some of the limitations of her analysis, was able to extend it to incorporate the main elements of modern capitalist growth.

Keywords: reproduction schema, Marxian economics, economic growth, economic cycles, effective demand, imperialism

JEL Classification: B14, B24, B51, E11, E12