In the writings of Karl Marx we find the most penetrating theoretical construction of the basic laws of motion of capitalism, and also acute observation of the significant events of his time and their larger meaning. Distinguishing his different levels of analysis can be obscured by the employment of the same words in different usages. For example, as Marx moves between the usages of the term «class» applied at the level of the mode of production to «class» as class fractions relevant to a specific social formation in his contemporary conjuncture, the term takes on different meanings (Oilman, 1978; Tabb, 2009). So too his writing explaining the causes of economic crisis range from disequilibrium in reproduction schemas and the core contradictions of social relations under capitalism, to contingent events of timely importance which attribute causal significance to such things as the discovery of natural resources or the bankruptcy of a particular enterprise. Just as our use of «class» depends on subject of our inquiry, so «crisis» is employed to consider different ranges of explanation.

Marx was quite expansive in discussion of crisis but, as Schumpeter writes (1951, 49), he «had no simple theory of business cycles. And none can be made to follow from his ‘laws’ of the capitalist process.» But this is to ignore his dialectical method. It is true that nowhere does Marx present a single crisis theory. He offers different explanations in different contexts. This should not be surprising, for Marx’s science is not a deterministic one but a dialectical approach with strong stress on historical specificity. For us his work raises the question in what ways our understanding of Marxian crisis theory helps explain the conjunctural crisis of the early 21st century and suggests appropriate political responses. In attempting to discuss these crucial questions in the limited space available I will paint a broad canvas highlighting diverse elements to connect discourses which frequently stand in isolation from or conflict with each other. Such scope reminds us of the breadth of Marx’s writing; the different levels of analysis, periodisation, and abstractions he pursued.

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