The Bichler & Nitzan Archives

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The Bichler & Nitzan Archives contain works by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan, as well as related publications by others. Most works in the archives deal with the theory of Capital as Power, or CasP for short. CasP offers a radical alternative to mainstream and Marxist theories of value and capitalism. It argues that capital symbolizes and quantifies not utility or labour, but organized power, and that capitalism is best understood and challenged not as a mode of production and consumption, but as a mode of power.

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Open Access
The Rich Families. Israel's Aristocracy of Finance (המיוחסים)
(1984) Frenkel, Shlomo; Bichler, Shimshon
אתם קמים בבוקר, שותים את הקפה של מושביץ, עם לחמניה של אנג'ל ונוסעים לעבודה במכונית שייבא קרסו. במישרד אתם מסירים את המיקטורן שיצר פולק, מטלפנים לבנק של רקאנטי ונותנים הוראה לקנות מניה של אייזנברג. בארוחת-הצהריים אתם אוכלים פסטה של פרופר עם בשר שייבא גיטר, שותים משקה קל של בורנשטיין ומקנחים בגלידה של שטראוס. כשאתם חוזרים לבית שבנה רובינשטיין אתם נזכרים ששכחתם, לעזאזל, להזמין סוף-שבוע במלון של שיף. ארוחת הערב שלכם מורכבת מדגים של מרידור. אחריה אתם מפעילים את הטלוויזיה של ברנשטיין וגורודצקי, ולא שוכחים לבלוע את התרופה של הורביץ. עיניכם נעצמות לאיטן, ובחלומכם אתם רואים ערימות של רוטשילדים הספר הזה הוא סיפורם של המישפחות והאנשים האלה, שמאכילים ומשקים אתכם, מסיעים ומלבישים אתכם, מעניקים לכם שירותים ואשליות, וגובים את רווחיהם מכל תנועה שאתם עושים. הדרך שבה הם עושים את הונם אינה רק עניינם-שלהם. זהו בעיקר עניינכם-שלכם. זהו הסיפור של המישפחות ושל האנשים האלה כמות שהם, ללא כחל-וסרק. כשתסיימו את קריאתו תהיו אולי חכמים יותר, נזעמים יותר, ובוודאי חסרי אשליות לכתיבת הספר חברו שניים שלמה פרנקל (36) שהיה סבל בנמל, פועל חרושת, פקיד, מוזג בבַּאר, עורך עיתון סטודנטים, מזכיר פרלמנטרי, ולאחרונה – כתב של העולם הזה שמשון ביכלר (36) שהיה פועל בניין וסוחר ירקות, סטודנט, מובטל, סוחר אמנות, בעל מיסעדה ופקיד ממשלה, ועתה הוא כלכלן-חוקר כדי לכתוב ספר זה קראו השניים מאות-אלפי גזרי עיתונים, עשרות ספרי זיכרונות וביוגרפיות, וערכו מאות ראיונות ושיחות רבות-מספור. מן החומר העצום שנאסף אפשר היה לכתוב עשרות ספרים, אך נכתב רק אחד: סיפורם של העשירים
Open Access
Some Aspects of Aggregate Concentration in the Israeli Economy, 1964-1986
(1988) Rowley, Robin; Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan
This essay examines the Israeli market structure from the perspective of ownership. We distinguish between the several corporate holding-groups that dominate the ‘Big Economy’ and the multitude of smaller, largely independent, business entities of the ‘Small Economy’. Although the two “sectors” operate under the same macroeconomic conditions, the analysis reveals marked differences in their business performance. These differences were reflected in an upward trend of aggregate concentration through the 1964-1968 period. Until the early 1970s the upward trend was moderate and was largely due to the different expansion paces of the two “sectors”. Since then, however, the trend intensified as the ‘Small Economy’ stagnated while profits in the ‘Big Economy’ continued to grow.
Open Access
Price and Quantity Measurements: Theoretical Biases in Empirical Procedures
(1989) Nitzan, Jonathan
The presence of qualitative changes in the nature of many commodities hinders our ability to construct meaningful price and quantity indices. This paper assesses some of the quality-change literature that seeks to resolve this problem. Several writers have endeavoured to develop objective, theory-neutral procedures designed to measure qualitative changes in some timeless, quantitative units. These measures, they argued, could be used to properly adjust ordinary price and quantity statistics for distortions introduced by quality changes. A careful examination suggests, however, that such procedures are neither objective nor free of theoretical biases. First, all existing attempts to develop ‘objective’ commodity measures in the presence of quality changes are besieged by a constant resort – explicit or implicit – to ‘subjective’ considerations. Second, both the idea that quality can be measured and the methods developed for that purpose are closely tied with the neoclassical theoretical paradigm, particularly with its emphasis on perfect competition and equilibrium.
Open Access
The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East
(1989) Rowley, Robin; Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan
This is the third paper in a series of four essays that deal with recent developments affecting the political economy of armaments. It begins by identifying the ‘military bias paradox’ of divergent behaviour, whereby the large armament corporations experienced an almost uninterrupted growth since the peak of the Vietnam War while domestic military spending exhibited a decade-long decline. The resolution of this apparent paradox could be found in the merging institution of arms exports, which supplemented domestic military budgets. The expansion of world markets for weapons coincided with the oil crisis of the 1970s. The Middle East became the focus of these developments. The interaction during the 1970s of rising military exports to this area and growing oil exports from the region provided a bsais for cooperation between major armament and energy corporations in an ‘Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition’. The consolidation of this coalition removed a major conflict between ‘civilian’ and ‘military’ producers in the United States and affected the course of U.S. domestic and foreign military policies.
Open Access
The Political Economy of Armament and Oil ? A Series of Four Articles
(1989) Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan; Rowley, Robin
1. The Political Economy of Armaments. Vol. 89, No. 7 (34 pages) The interaction of oil exports from the Middle East in the 1970s with arms imports to this region has drawn attention from several researchers. The existing literature, however, is seriously flawed for it ignores the large corporate players whose actions synchronize the two flows of income and, thus fails to identify the significance of these corporations for the political economy of armaments. This present paper is the first of a series of four essays that attempt to relate the dynamics of market structures to the escalation of military sales. Here we briefly asses some neo-Marxist and institutional writings that offer insight into the subject of relevant issues. We find them deficient and perhaps outdated in some respects. 2. Changing Fortunes: Armaments and the U.S. Economy. Vol. 89, No. 8 (27 pages) The present essay is the second in a series of four papers in which examine the political economy of armaments in recent decades. In this paper we focus on the ‘armament core’ of large military producers which recently emerged as a powerful bloc within the big economy of the United States. The rise of this core was heightened by a gradual shift of large civilian companies toward the armament business. We argue that the decline of large U.S.-based corporations in civilian world markets since the late 1960s was both a stimulus to and a partial consequence of the increasing involvement with better investment opportunities in government-related activity, especially military production. The increasing significance of international developments inhibits the earlier effectiveness of the U.S. government in assisting corporations based in the United States with its own military spending. 3. The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East. Vol. 89, No. 10 (54 pages) This is the third paper in a series of four essays that deal with recent developments affecting the political economy of armaments. It begins by identifying the ‘military bias paradox’ of divergent behaviour, whereby the large armament corporations experienced an almost uninterrupted growth since the peak of the Vietnam War while domestic military spending exhibited a decade-long decline. The resolution of this apparent paradox could be found in the merging institution of arms exports, which supplemented domestic military budgets. The expansion of world markets for weapons coincided with the oil crisis of the 1970s. The Middle East became the focus of these developments. The interaction during the 1970s of rising military exports to this area and growing oil exports from the region provided a bsais for cooperation between major armament and energy corporations in an ‘Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition’. The consolidation of this coalition removed a major conflict between ‘civilian’ and ‘military’ producers in the United States and affected the course of U.S. domestic and foreign military policies. 4. The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition: Demise or New Order? Vol. 89, No. 11 (63 pages) This is the final paper in a series of four essays that deal with the political economy of armament and oil. Since the 1980s, military imports to the Middle East increased while revenues from oil exports declined substantially. These disparities highlight structural changes which affect the Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition of large armament and oil companies. Relations between oil producing countries and petroleum companies were restructured and there was a surge in corporate concentration. A ‘military bias’ in Europe and Japan increased the global competition for military orders but also enhances the cohesiveness of an emerging international armament lobby of military contractors. In addition, the domestic influence of the U.S. Armament Core was heightened by corporate concentration and symbiotic relations between contractors and the Pentagon. The two sides of the Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition have consolidated their positions and may again seek to benefit from renewed cycles of armed conflicts and oil crises in the Middle East.
Open Access
The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition: Demise or New Order?
(1989) Bichler, Shimshon; Rowley, Robin; Nitzan, Jonathan
This is the final paper in a series of four essays that deal with the political economy of armament and oil. Since the 1980s, military imports to the Middle East increased while revenues from oil exports declined substantially. These disparities highlight structural changes which affect the Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition of large armament and oil companies. Relations between oil producing countries and petroleum companies were restructured and there was a surge in corporate concentration. A ‘military bias’ in Europe and Japan increased the global competition for military orders but also enhances the cohesiveness of an emerging international armament lobby of military contractors. In addition, the domestic influence of the U.S. Armament Core was heightened by corporate concentration and symbiotic relations between contractors and the Pentagon. The two sides of the Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition have consolidated their positions and may again seek to benefit from renewed cycles of armed conflicts and oil crises in the Middle East.
Open Access
The Political Economy of Armaments
(1989) Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan; Rowley, Robin
The interaction of oil exports from the Middle East in the 1970s with arms imports to this region has drawn attention from several researchers. The existing literature, however, is seriously flawed for it ignores the large corporate players whose actions synchronize the two flows of income and, thus fails to identify the significance of these corporations for the political economy of armaments. This present paper is the first of a series of four essays that attempt to relate the dynamics of market structures to the escalation of military sales. Here we briefly asses some neo-Marxist and institutional writings that offer insight into the subject of relevant issues. We find them deficient and perhaps outdated in some respects.
Open Access
Changing Fortunes: Armaments and the U.S. Economy
(1989) Nitzan, Jonathan; Rowley, Robin; Bichler, Shimshon
The present essay is the second in a series of four papers in which examine the political economy of armaments in recent decades. In this paper we focus on the ‘armament core’ of large military producers which recently emerged as a powerful bloc within the big economy of the United States. The rise of this core was heightened by a gradual shift of large civilian companies toward the armament business. We argue that the decline of large U.S.-based corporations in civilian world markets since the late 1960s was both a stimulus to and a partial consequence of the increasing involvement with better investment opportunities in government-related activity, especially military production. The increasing significance of international developments inhibits the earlier effectiveness of the U.S. government in assisting corporations based in the United States with its own military spending.
Open Access
Fascism in Israel. The Funding of Fascist and Neo-Nazi Movements: 1970-1990
(1989) Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan; Rowley, Robin
PREAMBLE In 1989, we applied for a Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation grant to investigate the funding of fascist and Neo-Nazi movements in Israel. The Foundation did not find the topic important enough, and the application was ceremonially rejected. Here is what we wanted to do. RESEARCH PLAN The emergence of ultra right-wing elements in Israeli society has drawn considerable attention from the popular media both in Israel and elsewhere. Academic studies on the subject have often considered this rise of fascist and neo-Nazi organizations as a marginal development rather than as part of a broader political transformation. We argue, to the contrary, that the rise of ultra- right movements reflects important changes in Israel and was both stimulated by actions of the Israeli government and supported by business organizations and affluent individuals (both in Israel and abroad) . Our study focuses on the potential link between the fascist and neo-Nazi organizations and the mainstream of Israel's political and economic spheres. In particular, we seek to map the flow of funding to such organizations from government, business and foreign sources. Three avenues of research will be followed. (i) Analysis of government budgets, records of business transactions and registration of donations. (ii) Interviews with key individuals in the political, military and business elites, others who were instrumental to financial support for extreme right-wing movements and central figures in these movements themselves, (iii) Close examination of existing publications, particularly newspapers and magazines, that reported on Israeli fascism since 1970. Results will be organized in an input -output format between source and destination for funds. A dynamic temporal comparison between alternative periods could provide important insight into the evolution of extreme right-wing movements and their relations with the central establishment of Israeli society. RELEVANCE TO HUMAN DOMINANCE, AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE Fascists and neo-Nazi movements have been involved in numerous violent and illegal activities against Arabs in the Occupied Territories as well as against political opponents in Israel. Their ideologies advocate the creation of a totalitarian society, an authoritarian economy run by a military bureaucracy and an official apartheid against the Palestinian population. In matters of foreign policy they call for a permanent state of war against the Arab neighbours and an aggressive expansionary drive to create a "big Israel". This vision of dominance may have grave consequences for aggression and violence in Israel and the Middle East. Such sombre prospects are enhanced by the extent to which ultra right-wing movements are supported by Israel's mainstream establishment.
Open Access
Inflation and Market Structure
(1990) Nitzan, Jonathan
This is the third in a series of three essays which explore modern theories for inflation. Here we examine theories that reject the universal validity of perfect competition and link inflation with alternative, more realistic structures and institutions. In contrast to macroeconomic theories which emphasize ‘excess demand’ and growth inflation, structural theories relate primarily to stagflation. While most macroeconomists share a common belief in the ideal type of ‘profit maximization,’ structural theorists differ widely in their views on what motivates economic actors. The multiplicity of motivational assumptions lead different theorists toward distinct explanations for inflation. With their greater sensitivity toward real institutions, these theories offers important insights into the process of modern inflation. The structural literature, is, nevertheless limited by some of its methodological foundations.
Open Access
Macroeconomic Perspectives on Inflation and Unemployment
(1990) Nitzan, Jonathan
The present paper is the first in a series of three essays in which we examine the macroeconomic and structural approaches to inflation. In this paper we explore some of the key contributions to the macroeconomic literature which appeared since the late 1950s. Much of this literature evolved in a dual love hate relationship with the Phillips Curve. Scholars who endorsed the Phillips Curve on the basis of historical evidence were surprised when it started to crumble as soon as they assimilated it into their macroeconomic models. The gradual emergence of stagflation and the progressive breakdown of the Phillips Curve presented mainstream macroeconomics with the most serious challenge since the Second World War. Macroeconomists attacked the Phillips Curve but their criticisms sought to modify, not nullify. The idea that inflation and unemployment were inversely related was apparently too significant to discard so the notional relationship was simply ‘augmented’ by auxiliary factors. The cost of saving the Phillips Curve was substantial. To explain stagflation, macroeconomists resorted to 'disequilibria,' ‘rigidities’ and ‘exogenous shocks’ and they abandoned, at least temporarily, the ideal formulation of the neoclassical synthesis.
Open Access
Price Behaviour and Business Behaviour
(1990) Nitzan, Jonathan
The present essay is the second in a series of three papers which examine alternative approaches to inflation. Here we identify some of the principal criticisms expressed against neoclassical views on price behaviour and business behaviour. These challenges grew from the early discovery of ‘administered prices’ by Means and the subsequent findings by Hall and Hitch regarding ‘full cost’ pricing. The notions that industrial prices were relatively inflexible and that businessmen set those prices by imprecise rules of thumb stood in sharp contrast to the pristine simplicity of neoclassical models. Yet these attempts for greater realism seemed to undermine the prospects of constructing a coherent theory for prices.
Open Access
Theories of Inflation - A Series of Three Articles
(1990) Nitzan, Jonathan
1. Macroeconomic Perspectives on Inflation and Unemployment (46 pages) The present paper is the first in a series of three essays in which we examine the macroeconomic and structural approaches to inflation. In this paper we explore some of the key contributions to the macroeconomic literature which appeared since the late 1950s. Much of this literature evolved in a dual love hate relationship with the Phillips Curve. Scholars who endorsed the Phillips Curve on the basis of historical evidence were surprised when it started to crumble as soon as they assimilated it into their macroeconomic models. The gradual emergence of stagflation and the progressive breakdown of the Phillips Curve presented mainstream macroeconomics with the most serious challenge since the Second World War. Macroeconomists attacked the Phillips Curve but their criticisms sought to modify, not nullify. The idea that inflation and unemployment were inversely related was apparently too significant to discard so the notional relationship was simply ‘augmented’ by auxiliary factors. The cost of saving the Phillips Curve was substantial. To explain stagflation, macroeconomists resorted to 'disequilibria,' ‘rigidities’ and ‘exogenous shocks’ and they abandoned, at least temporarily, the ideal formulation of the neoclassical synthesis. 2. Price Behaviour and Business Behaviour (33 pages) The present essay is the second in a series of three papers which examine alternative approaches to inflation. Here we identify some of the principal criticisms expressed against neoclassical views on price behaviour and business behaviour. These challenges grew from the early discovery of ‘administered prices’ by Means and the subsequent findings by Hall and Hitch regarding ‘full cost’ pricing. The notions that industrial prices were relatively inflexible and that businessmen set those prices by imprecise rules of thumb stood in sharp contrast to the pristine simplicity of neoclassical models. Yet these attempts for greater realism seemed to undermine the prospects of constructing a coherent theory for prices. 3. Inflation and Market Structure (59 pages) This is the third in a series of three essays which explore modern theories for inflation. Here we examine theories that reject the universal validity of perfect competition and link inflation with alternative, more realistic structures and institutions. In contrast to macroeconomic theories which emphasize ‘excess demand’ and growth inflation, structural theories relate primarily to stagflation. While most macroeconomists share a common belief in the ideal type of ‘profit maximization,’ structural theorists differ widely in their views on what motivates economic actors. The multiplicity of motivational assumptions lead different theorists toward distinct explanations for inflation. With their greater sensitivity toward real institutions, these theories offers important insights into the process of modern inflation. The structural literature, is, nevertheless limited by some of its methodological foundations. Language
Open Access
Inflation As Restructuring. A Theoretical and Empirical Account of the U.S. Experience
(1992) Nitzan, Jonathan
The thesis offers a new framework for inflation as a process of restructuring. Contrary to existing theories of inflation, which tend to take structure and institutions as given for the purpose of analysis, we argue that inflation could be understood only in terms of ongoing structural and institutional change. In the modern context of large-scale business enterprise, inflationary restructuring arises as an integral part of capital accumulation. On the aggregate level, inflation appears as stagflation, with the expansion of pecuniary values in the 'business' sphere depending on the strategic limitation of productive activity in the 'industrial' realm. This stagflationary interaction between 'business' and 'industry' is, in turn, linked (on the disaggregate level) to the dynamic formation and reformation of 'distributional coalitions' and the process of aggregate concentration. An empirical analysis of the U.S. experience between the early 1950s and the late 1980s reveals two regimes of inflationary restructuring: the first, which lasted until 1970, involved rapid increases in aggregate concentration with relatively modest stagflation, whereas the second, post-1970 regime consisted of stable (or even declining) concentration amidst severe stagflation.
Open Access
From Olson to Veblen: The Stagflationary Rise of Distributional Coalitions
(1992) Nitzan, Jonathan
This essay deals with the relationship between stagflation and the process of restructuring. The literature dealing with the interaction of stagnation and inflation is invariably based on some explicit or implicit assumptions about economic structure, but there are very few writings which concentrate specifically on the link between the macroeconomic phenomenon of stagflation and the process of structural change. Of the few who dealt with this issue, we have chosen to focus mainly on two important contributors – Mancur Olson and Thorstein Veblen. The first based his theory on neoclassical principles, attempting to demonstrate their universality across time and place. The second was influenced by the historical school and concentrated specifically on the institutional features of modern capitalism. Despite the fundamental differences in their respective frameworks, both writers arrive at a similar conclusion, namely, that the phenomenon of stagflation is inherent in the dynamic evolution of collective economic action, particularly in the rise and consolidation of 'distributional coalitions.'
Open Access
רקוויאם ל"משטר הישן" בישראל (Requiem to Israel’s Ancient Régime)
(1993) Bichler, Shimshon
צעדי ה"הכרה ההדדית" בין הפת"ח לבין ממשלת ישראל מאיצים תהליך עמוק יותר, העובר זה כמה שנים על החברה הישראלית: תהליך פירוקו של המישטר הישן על רקע ה"סדר החדש" העולמי ובמיזרח-התיכון. המישטר הישן הוא אותו מיכלול – מיבנה משק, הסדרים מוסדיים ויחסי סמכות – שנוצק על גרעין "המשק המעורב" המנדאטורי שהצמיח את המשק המילחמתי שהתרחב מאז שנותה-70. מיכלול זה החל לחשוף את בקיעיו בשנים האחרונות, וכנראה מתקרב לסוף דרכו. ה"עידן החדש" בכלכלה ובחברה, שמדברים בו כה הרבה, כבר התחיל – וראוי לסכם אותו כעת, בזמן שצלילי תרועת-הניצחון מתמזגים בצליליה של תרועת האשכבה
Open Access
From Flywheel to Fanbelt: The Growing Importance of Emerging Markets
(1994) Nitzan, Jonathan
Emerging markets are no longer acting as the flywheel of industrialized country growth. They are playing an increasingly powerful role in world trade, and their burgeoning demand has softened the impact of the last recession in industrialized countries. Emerging markets now account for a significant portion of US multinationals’ profitability.
Open Access
The Long Shot for Brazil
(1995) Nitzan, Jonathan
Political support for current reforms is contingent on sustained growth, but the prospects for such growth are limited by Brazil’s highly unequal distribution of income
Open Access
The New World Order and its Old-New Instruments: Prospects for Israeli Society
(1995) Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan
The political economy of "peace dividends" in the Middle East fits well into the global transformation of capital accumulation.
Open Access
The Political Economy of Peace
(1995) Nitzan, Jonathan
Israel and South Africa are currently undergoing a fundamental structural transformation. Until the early 1980s, the military economy in Israel and the apartheid economy in South Africa were good for business. The situation has changed, however, and the leading corporate groups now support a transition to an open economy.