Credit Crunch: Origins and Orientation

The cyclical pattern of capitalism is periodically punctuated by severe crises that lead to restructuring of the political-economic system. In this article we argue that the underlying factor of the current crisis is a real economic imbalance caused by an unprecedented growth of the nancial sector. Moreover, we argue that a return to an expansive era of capital accumulation will become impossible in the advanced countries. Each structural crisis opens opportunities for signi cantly advancing the position of the working-class. But it requires a socialist movement with the organisational and programmatic capacity to articulate and implement progressive policies. This is not the state of the movement at present. We believe that without a political economy of the working-class it is impossible to formulate a coherent political program of the working-class.