Thursday, May 04, 2006
Why We Graph
Graphing is not just theoretical debate. The data is real - or at least, closer to reality than my or your interpretation of it. That's because the numbers don't come from any one person, but from vast numbers of them. They represent productive activity, human labour chained to capitalism's machine. Each point on the graph is the labour of thousands of women and men - centuries of human time encapsulated in a single dot. Those numbers demand understanding, and respect. While students read and activists march, billions of people across the globe are producing for their masters, and having the products spirited away from them, surplus scraped off their labour. Those lines on the graph are the contours of capitalism's ugly face.
Is American capitalism getting stronger?
I said it wasn't, a few days ago. Now here's some opposing data:
Notice the new-wave, Kraftwerky colour scheme going on
The red line shows the U.S. exporting and earning money abroad. It's rising steadily. The black line shows the U.S. buying imports and paying for them. It's falling dramatically. Funny how it looks like a wide-open mouth.
The 'teeth' are foreign-owned companies in the U.S. - they're on the increase, unlike the companies Americans own abroad, which are declining in value.
What does this all mean?
a) The U.S. is taking in far more money than it's sending out. The red line goes up = more money in. The black line goes down = less money out. At the end of the day, that's more money in capitalist pockets, period.
b) How is this possible, when the U.S. isn't buying tons of new companies to make all that money? The answer: all that foreign ownership. The white dots and the red line rise at roughly the same rate. In other words, foreign capital is buying up U.S. assets, just as the U.S. succeeds internationally. This points to two things:
1) American profit doesn't fall exclusively into U.S. pockets. U.S.-owned assets fall, as foreign-owned assets rise: that means fewer American-owned companies. They might be based in the states, but they're becoming transnationalized?
2) So how do we decide what's happening, when the previous chart showed U.S. FDI falling? How can the U.S. be strong and weak at the same time? Ah, there's the heart of the matter. By the way, have I convinced anyone how difficult it is to talk about 'American capitalism' (or any capitalism, for that matter) and be sure what you mean? Anyhow, tune in later for more exciting details...
"And I'm telling you FDI is more important for U.S. capital than exports!"
Is American capitalism getting stronger?
I said it wasn't, a few days ago. Now here's some opposing data:
Notice the new-wave, Kraftwerky colour scheme going onThe red line shows the U.S. exporting and earning money abroad. It's rising steadily. The black line shows the U.S. buying imports and paying for them. It's falling dramatically. Funny how it looks like a wide-open mouth.
The 'teeth' are foreign-owned companies in the U.S. - they're on the increase, unlike the companies Americans own abroad, which are declining in value.
What does this all mean?
a) The U.S. is taking in far more money than it's sending out. The red line goes up = more money in. The black line goes down = less money out. At the end of the day, that's more money in capitalist pockets, period.
b) How is this possible, when the U.S. isn't buying tons of new companies to make all that money? The answer: all that foreign ownership. The white dots and the red line rise at roughly the same rate. In other words, foreign capital is buying up U.S. assets, just as the U.S. succeeds internationally. This points to two things:
1) American profit doesn't fall exclusively into U.S. pockets. U.S.-owned assets fall, as foreign-owned assets rise: that means fewer American-owned companies. They might be based in the states, but they're becoming transnationalized?
2) So how do we decide what's happening, when the previous chart showed U.S. FDI falling? How can the U.S. be strong and weak at the same time? Ah, there's the heart of the matter. By the way, have I convinced anyone how difficult it is to talk about 'American capitalism' (or any capitalism, for that matter) and be sure what you mean? Anyhow, tune in later for more exciting details...
"And I'm telling you FDI is more important for U.S. capital than exports!"
