23
" The rule that governs the behaviour of all capitalists is, then, 'accumulation for accumulation's sake, production for production's sake' (Capital, vol. 1, p. 595). And this rule, enforced by competition, operates independently of the individual will of the capitalist. It is the hallmark of individual behaviour, and thereby stamps itself as the distinguishing characteristic of all members in the class of capitalists. It also binds all capitalists together, for they all have a common need: to promote the conditions for progressive accumulation. "
― David Harvey , The Limits to Capital
26
" The individual', Marx suggests, consequently 'carries his social power, as well as his bond with society, in his pocket' (Grundrisse, p. 157). This social power is 'alienable without restriction or conditions', and it can become, therefore, the 'private power of private persons' (Capital, vol. 1, pp. 110, 132). Greed for that social power leads to appropriation, stealing, hoarding, accumulation — all become possible. Marx goes to considerable lengths, particularly in the Grundrisse (see particularly pp. 145-72), to describe the disruptive effects of monetization, through social power relations, on traditional societies. "
― David Harvey , The Limits to Capital
30
" The essence of the neo-classical argument is that competition for productive factors — land, labour and capital — forces entrepreneurs to pay an amount equal to the value that the marginal (last employed) unit of each factor creates. Given a particular technological state and relative factor supplies (scarcities), then competition ensures that each factor 'gets what it creates', that 'exploitation of a factor cannot occur.' It is then a short step to infer that the distributive shares of rent, wages, interest, etc., are socially just fair shares. The political implication is that there is no point in, or call for, class struggle, and that government intervention should be confined largely to ensuring that perfect competition prevails. In the lexicons of many Marxist writers, this qualifies as 'vulgar political economy' with a vengeance. "
― David Harvey , The Limits to Capital