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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on January 10, 2007
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2007 31(4):539-561; doi:10.1093/cje/bel036
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

The ontology of economic power in capitalism: mainstream economics and Marx

Giulio Palermo*

* University of Brescia

Address for correspondence: Dept of Economics, University of Brescia, via S. Faustino 74/B, 25122 Brescia, Italy; e-mail: palermo{at}eco.unibs.it

Mainstream economics conceives power to be incompatible with perfect competition. This conception, I argue, derives from its deductivist method and the ‘empirical realist’ ontology that it presupposes. Following Marx, I show that capitalism constantly reproduces asymmetrical constraints on classes of individuals, independent of the market form. My ontological argument is rooted in the philosophy of ‘critical realism’. My conclusion is that the dichotomy ‘power–competition’ is ontologically untenable. If capitalist relations necessarily involve power, it is not simply because neoclassical competition does not exist in reality, as radical mainstream economists suggest, but rather because capitalism altogether is a ‘system of power’.

Key Words: Power • Marxism • Critical realism • Ontology • Methodology

JEL classifications: B25, B41, D40, P16

Manuscript received January 15, 2002; final version received July 21, 2006.


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