HE PEOPLE who dwell in

the advanced capitalist
countries have been encour-
aged by press and radio to
believe that “they have never
had it so good” and. that
capitalism now knows how to
solve its problems.

This “miracle” has attract-
ed great attention to “con-
temporary. capitalism.” Some
seek to find a rational expla-
nation. Others fear to find
that an. even. greater miracle

would be its indefinite con-
tinuance.
Yet the many millions of

people who do not get any
benefit from the “miracle” are
making their voices heard.
There are many other mil-
_ lions who prefer to arrange
their economies so that they
‘do not have to hope for
_ miracles.

Paul -A. Baran, who is
professor of economics at
Stanford University in the
U.S. has written a book, The
Political Economy of Growih.
It should be read by all those
who think that the Marxist
_ theory. of political economy
_ has been outdated by the re-
cent history of the capitalist
world.

; xt 53 m

Professor Baran exposes the
' inherent weaknesses. of mon-

. opoly capitalism and its in-

ability to do anything except
increase the poverty of* the
underdeveloped countries.

The analytical. tool which
Professor Baran uses through-
out his book is the concept of
“economic surplus,” of which
“he distinguishes threee vari-
ants.

Actual economic surplus is
the difference between soc-
iety’s actual current output
and its actual current con-
sumption.

It is explained that actual
economic surplus is merely

that part of the Marxist cate-

gory of ‘surplus value that is
being accumulated; it does
not include the consumption of
the capitalist class, the gov-
ernment’s spending on ad-
ministration, military estab-
lishment, and the like.
: The second variant is poten-
tial economic surplus — the
: difference between the out-
‘put that could be produced
- in a given environment if all
the unemployed resources
were utilized and consumption
were restricted to essentials.
Planned economic surplus
~ relates only to comprehensive
economic planning under

socialism.
“What is crucial is that the

American professor debunks
capitalist prosperity myth

volume of output would not
be determined by the fortuit-

ous outcome of a number of.

uncoordinated decisions on
the part of individual busi-
nessmen and corporations, but
by a rational plan expressing
what society would wish to
produce, to consume, to save
and to invest at any given
time.”

xt 503 $e
Utilizing this concept of the
economic surplus, its size and
method of employment, Baran
conducts a searching exami-

nation of monopoly capitalism. .

He demolishes, right and left
the treasured arguments of the
apologists for capitalism. He
shows how 50 years’ of: de-
veloped capitalism has not
changed the share of total in-
come going to wages.

He demonstrates with re-
markable clarity how free
enterprise and competition
have disappeared during the
era of monopoly capitalism;
how little is left of the law
of the equalization of ‘the rate
of profit, and how the notion
of a democracy of share-
holders is a figment of a
fevered imagination.

Particularly interesting are

yr Paul Robeson (above),

world-famous American
singer, said last week he was

’“very hopeful” he would be

able to go to Britain in April
to appear on a commercial TV
program at the invitation of
Associated Television. He also
hopes to make an extensive
concert tour of Britain. Robe-
son is now free to travel any-
where in the Americas but his
passport has not yet been re-
stored by the U.S. State De-
partment. Last year, in Britain
a National Paul Robeson Com-
mittee conducted a campaign
for the singer’s right to visit
Britain.

the paragraphs showing the
ways in which competition on
price is avoided between
monopoly groups. Since the
result is to pile up a mass of
profits in the monopolized
sector, for which there is but
a limited field of investment
either there or in the dimin-
ishing competitive sector:

“. . In any given situation
the volume of investment
tends to be smaller than the
volume of the economic sur--
plus that would be forth-
coming under full employ-
ment. There is, consequently,
a tendency toward unemploy-
ment and stagnation .. . pre-
cisely identified by Marx a
century ago.”

As regards the influence of
the state, the only interven-
tion wholly acceptable to the
monopoly capitalists is spend-
ing on behalf of- imperialist
policies, and this means arma-
ment and wars.

The result is, in Baran’s
Opinion, a highly deceptive
facade of prosperity which,
among other things, gives rise
to inflation.

‘But there is not even a
facade of prosperity in the
underdeveloped countries
which the monopoly capital-
ists count as part of the “free”
world.

ces xt xt

Baran devotes a very large
part of his book to an analy-
sis of the roots of backward-
ness.

We are given a lively des-
cription of how it is that the
intervention of imperialism in
a backward country results
in a multiplication of money-
lenders and merchants, not to
mention fabulously rich oil
potentiates. Hence the support
by dying capitalism for
“everything backward, mori-
bund and medieval.”

Baran shows that the main
task of modern imperialism
now is to slow down the de-
velopment of underdeveloped

countries and he concludes
that:
“The establishment of. a

socialist planned economy. is
an essential, indeed indispen-
sable, condition for the at-
tainment of economic and
social progress in. underdevel-
oped coutries.” 4
Fortunately, he says, they
can draw upon the experi-
ences of the Soviet Union,
which had to develop at
breakneck speed a. backward
country threatened by foreign
aggression and internal resist-
ance.
WILLIAM MENNELL

‘ever,

ye This weekend, January 23-25, UBC English Department —
wil] stage the first performance here of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt
in University Auditorium. Richard Irwin, who plays the title
role, and Joan McRae are shown above in a scene from the
two-hour production.

Bolshoi Ballet hailed:

as film masterpiece

ADE by the Rank Organi-
M zation during the famous
troupe’s visit to England last
year, The Bolshoi Ballet opens
at the Park Theatre here next
Friday, January 31.

Staged in Covent Garden
(home of Sadlers Wells) and
photographed in brilliant East-
man Color, the film provides
a fascinating 100-minute intro-
duction to the Soviet com-
pany’s repertoire. an

Opening with Dance of the
Tartars from Asafiey’s Foun-
tain of Bakhchisarai, colorful
cos.umes and gripping action
sweep the audience into a dif-
ferent world where. it is ob-
livious of film or stage can-
ventions. Yet there are no sets

or props; only a stark black
backdrop.
Succeeding numbers have

the same hypnotic power; the
Spanish Dance from Tchaikoy-
sky’s Swan Lake; Spring Wa-
ter; Polonaise and Krakoviak
from Glinka’s opera Ivan Sus-
sanin; and Falpurgisnacht. The
last, much longer than the
o‘hers, ranges in its two scenes
from languorous sensuality to
frenzied revelry. What a Cor TDR
de Ballet!

When Galina Ulanova ap-
pears in The Dying Swan, how-
it is clear that these, a
satisfying: performance in
themselves, were still only the
pre’iminaries. ;

After an intermission, Ulan-
ova returns as’ Giselle in Ad-
ams’ famous ballet. Staged with

beautifully realistic sets, this
complete eee is ac-
cording to Professo To, Lav=

rovsky’s revisions.

January 24, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE

At this point words are in= ~
adequate. It is impossible to
describe the profound subtlety
of expression and characterl-
zation by Ulanova — and the
supporting artists. One of the
finest ballet experiences ever
to reach the screen, it gives one
a completely new concept of
the power of dance as artistic
communication.

Be SE ae

A word about cinematic
treatment. Evidently the only
time available from the

troupe’s crowded schedule was

on its one night a week off.
Thus the production method—
developed and directed here
by Paul Czimmer — was cor-
tinuous performance: with Tour —
cameras.each taking tne en-
tire action from . different
angles. This cusate footage
was later edited and intercut.

Czimmer’s technique can-
not be as effective as normal
studio production, where any
number of special effects and —
re-takes are possible. But it
is most successful in capturing

continuous action and = re-
mouding. it into dinematic
unity.

Unfortunately,. one of the
cameras (close-up right) had
technical difficulties —- most
of its shots are off-color
blured — but this is a minor
consideration compared to the
expressive stature of the
who’e. :

The admission price may be
steep but The Bolshoi Ballet
is worth

more.

N. E. STORY :

and=33

every penny and ta