Relation of the Surplus to Kalecki's Gross Profit (Mark-Up )
I think that Kalecki's gross profit, though it includes much
more ( the whole salariat!) bears a close relation to the
classical surplus. The main difference is: The classical
case assumes cpmpetition in the market for the product
and a kind of monopsony in the labour market. Kalecki
assumes all permeating monopolistic elements ( imperfect
competition and oligopoly ) Thus exploitation takes place
on the market of the products. For MaRX IN the contrary
exploitation takes place not in distribution but in production.
Teh class struggle is thus located in the workshop:
It is about hours, piece rates, discipline, rules and
regulations. Marx has a point here which escapes Kalecki,
just as the monopolistic elements in the labour market
were not explicitly dealt with by him. On the other side
the one—sidedness of Marx's view blocks the way to an
understanding of present day wage and price formation.
The shifting of cost implicit in Kalecki's mark-up is
a^par-fe^o^f every day lif e /kw- >v-, ^ ( « l" ol<?Wh" >
One special point made by Kalecki is of considerable topical
interest to-day. He says that in a sharp recession
business firms, on a kind of tacit understanding, may
sometimes increase their profit margins in order to
counteract the pressure of increased overhedd cost (per unit
As the last recession progressed we could hear again and
again that major concerns haD Been able to cut their
overhead substantially (getting rid of management,for example )
so that with unchanged prices they were able to protect
themselves against losses. This is not exactly the way in
which Kalecki imagined it but it comes to the same.