1. Thoroughly Modern Marx Leo Panitch Foreign Policy May/June 2009

2. 1. Marxism and Political economy (1) Major principle of Marxism — t he dialectical and materialist concept of history. (2) Major thoeries of political economy: The theory of surplus value. The theory of surplus value. The relation between productivity and superstructure (social relationship). The relation between productivity and superstructure (social relationship). The nature of capitalism—imperialist expansion for market, vicious competition resulting in economic crises. The nature of capitalism—imperialist expansion for market, vicious competition resulting in economic crises.

3. 2. Macroeconomic indicators (1) GDP: the total domestic output of a country or region. (2) Capital investment: total amount of investment of a country or region. (3) Trade volume: total amount of domestic selling and buying of a country or region. (4) CPI: Consumer price indice, indication of inflation. (5) PPI: Producers price index, indication of inflation. (6) Unemployment rate: index of economic situation. (7) Aggregated demand: index of market demand. (8) International trade: total amount of import and export of a country or region.

4. 3. Main ideas (1) Introduction: Marx was far ahead of his time in predicting the fateful factors of globalization. (2) Marx’s predictions. (3) The financial sector. (4) Social isolation and passivity of the public. (5) Proposals to deal with the financial crisis. (6) Democratization of economy. (7) Conclusion: the progress is uncertain.

5. 4. Structure: A critical essay (1) Introduction (Para. 1-2)—Marx’s predictions— ahead of his time. (2) Background (Para. 3-5): Marx’s theories. (3) Analysis (Para. 6-7): Analysis of the financial sector. (4) Analysis (Para. 8-9): Analysis of social relations. (5) Analysis (Para. 10-13): Analysis of the proposals made. (6) Analysis (Para. 14-15): Analysis of the democratization of economy. (7) Conclusion—the progress is uncertain.

6. 5. Questions on Computers Vs. Brains (1) What are the major differences between computers and brains? (2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the brains? (3) What happens if we build a computer that is comparable to a brain?