Michael Kidron - Economic Writings

Economic Writings

Among Kidron's many writings were Western Capitalism Since the War and Capitalism and Theory. His main contribution was to develop the theory of the permanent arms economy, which argued that capitalism had been temporarily stabilized by the production of arms, which acted as a counter tendency to the falling rate of profit. Crisis, then, was not eliminated from the system, but merely postponed. This came at a time when other tendencies were emblazoning their publications with banner headlines proclaiming that capitalism had entered its final crisis. Related to this was the conception that state capitalism was a distinct period within the imperialist stage of capitalism and not simply a new label to be plastered upon the Russian state.

These ideas and experience of the workers movement in Britain were to develop a deeply rooted understanding in Kidron's writings that the revolutionary movement must be democratic in order to fit the working class to rule. The PAE also meant that this analysis was reflected in the understanding of the IS that the 'locus of reformism' had moved from parliamentary bodies to the shop floor. In short workers were seeking gains through localized class struggle at the point of production where the institution of the elected and recallable shop steward was key. The task of revolutionaries was to generalize and politicize such struggles.

Kidron was critical of the move within IS to a more traditionally democratic centralist structure in the wake of the events of 1968, and as IS grew, he moved away from its core, both physically, obtaining an academic post in Kingston upon Hull, and politically. Nonetheless, he took no direct part in the factional struggle which saw a split in the central IS cadre in 1975.