Peak Oil? Oil Supply and Accumulation

capital differential accumulation peak oilFROM THE ARTICLE: Peak oil will come. When it does, its effects on the global economy are uncertain. In the meantime, the oil companies must keep the following plates spinning: faith in oil as the energy source of capitalism, a high enough price to remain on top of the corporate world, a low enough and steady enough price to avoid contributing to a lengthy recession, or even a depression. While the differential perspective on accumulation makes it clear that growth is not synonymous with the corporate interest -- as long as everyone else is declining faster than you, then you are differentially accumulating -- depressions are dangerous for their unpredictability and their potential to threaten the capitalist status quo. . . . Undoubtedly, one of these plates will drop. The question is: which one? The consequences of the answer to that question will come more immediately than the geologically necessary peak in production and should be of greater concern

Differentiating Diamonds: Transforming Knowledge and the Accumulation of De Beers

advertising De Beers diamonds differential accumulation mass consumptionIn 1939, the De Beers diamond company faced a dire situation. The company’s accumulation had been dwindling for decades. The Great Depression not only pushed diamond sales to historic lows, it shifted American attitudes around consumption and thriftiness to the detriment of the luxury object. In this article, I bring together Liz McFall’s assertion that advertising needs to be studied as a “specific commercial device” with Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler’s capitalas-power theory of value (CasP), which emphasizes differential accumulation. Both McFall and CasP challenge analyses that treat capitalism as an undifferentiated totality. It is from this perspective of differentiated commercial struggle that I analyze De Beers’ early advertising campaigns as well as the market research by N.W. Ayer that preceded them. My analysis focuses on an educational component intended to transform the diamond knowledge of the masses. The analysis demonstrates how the research informed the campaign that emerged in contingent relation with various facets of American society and was transformed by changes emergent with WWII

Death Grip: Scapegoating the Subprime Loser

Capitalizing morality and accumulating through crisis

The Enduring Power of GE

differential accumulation GE powerGeneral Electric (GE) has demonstrated extraordinary longevity in the upper echelon of U.S. corporations. From 1925 to 2013, the company has never fallen below 10th in the rankings of firms by market capitalization. The only other firm to match this feat is the oil giant ExxonMobil. GE’s durability is remarkable given the political, cultural, and technological tumult of the 20th century. In this presentation, I will consider possible reasons for GE’s dominance. This study of GE is part of an effort to develop a new field of Accumulation Studies. *** D.T. Cochrane. PhD student at the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, York University ([email protected]) This presentation is the fourth in the Second Speaker Series on the Capitalist Mode of Power, organized by capitalaspower.com and sponsored by the York Department of Political Science and the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome. WHEN: Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 3:00-5:00 pm WHERE: Verney Room, 674 South Ross, Keele Campus of York Universit

Castoriadis, Veblen and the 'Power Theory of Capital'

capital capitalization differential accumulation labour valueA critical examination of value theories, capital accumulation and organized powe

From Colonialism to Climate Change: The Power to Externalize - Video

accumulation externalities power resistanceThe history of capitalism is a history of externalization. While benefits were tallied, costs were routinely excluded from accounts. In this presentation I examine the history of externalization as a power process. A history of brutality and destruction marketed as innovation and efficiency, externalization has been the shadowy counterpart to accumulation. From colonialism to climate change, I will describe how negative effects of economic activity are systematically imposed on vulnerable communities via the interconnected processes of production and accounting. Finally, I will consider how externalities have made their way back onto the books through uprisings, court rulings and environmental disasters. Refreshment will be served and everyone is welcome. WHERE: Verney Room, South 674 Ross Building, Keele Campus, York University WHEN: 2:30 - 5:30 pm, Tuesday, 24 October 201

Disobedient Things. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Accounting for Disaster

actor-network theory capitalization confidence in obedience Deepwater HorizonAnalysis of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the accumulatory decline of BP demonstrates both the analytical efficacy of the capital-as-power (CasP) approach to value theory, and the irreducible role of objects in the process of accumulation. Rather than productivity per se, accumulation depends on control of productivity. Owners’ control is over both the human and non-human components of systems of production, which transcend the standard categories of culture/politics/economics/technology. Capitalization translates the irreducible social order, things and all, that bear on accumulation into commensurable units of capital. The decline of BP in the wake of the disaster expressed the market’s falling confidence in the obedience of the entities that bear on its profits, including the things that comprise its productive capacity

Why Diamonds and De Beers?, or The Need for Accumulation Studies

accumulation studies De Beers diamondsThe text of this paper served as the introductory presentation for my PhD defence, held on December 2015. In it, I explain what I tried to do with the dissertation, the methods I used, and the larger project I hope it is initiating. Specifically, I suggest there is a need for accumulation studies as a field of research and analysis. The dissertation was a case study within this not-yet-existent field. Hopefully, this text serves to clarify my approach and, ideally, will generate greater interest in such research

Disobedient Things: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Accounting for Disaster

capital accumulation crisis things valueAnalysis of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the accumulative decline of BP demonstrate both the analytical efficacy of the capital-as-power approach to value theory, and the irreducible role of objects in the process of accumulation. Rather than productivity per se, accumulation depends on (1) control of productivity, and (2) the evaluation of control. Capital-as-power focuses on capitalization as an expression of the evaluation by owners of their own power. In this article, I argue that the power of owners translated into capital values is power over both the human and non-human components of systems of production. Power is actualized through entities defined as cultural and political, as well as economic. Capitalization translates into the commensurable financial units of capital the irreducible social order—including objects—that bears on accumulation. The decline of BP’s capital valuation in the wake of the disaster expressed the market’s falling confidence in the expertise, experience and equipment that comprised the company’s productive capacity

Fight to Win! Tools for Confronting Capital

activism anarchism capital as power political-economic disruption campaigns (PEDCs)Anarchists have generally rejected the idea that there is or ought to be a pure or inherently revolutionary strategy or tactic. In this chapter we make use of the capital-as-power theory of value and capital in a way that informs and supports the ad hoc perspective on struggle and fighting to win. Our primary purpose is to propose a method based on this theory as a means for social justice activists to assess political-economic disruption campaigns (PEDCs). Such an analysis is a needed component of an anarchist economics