Laws of Motion of Capital in the Center-Periphery Structure

Abstract

The laws of motion of capital in the world economic system are analyzed through the fundamental necessary relation between production and consumption capacities. The structural contrasts between center and periphery and domination of the former over the latter create specific barriers to the pro cess of accumulation that are overcome through external relationships among them. Specifically, the tendency for the rate of profit to fall in the center and, in the periphery, the deficit in the balance of payments, the low rate of investment, the limited market size, and the food crisis create the internal possibilities for these external relations. The laws of motion provide the objective basis for the contrasted relations between growth and income distribution in center and per iphery and for the deepening of dualism in the latter.