ABSTRACT
Steindl’s Maturity and Stagnation in American Capitalism is a largely forgotten text among academic economists.1 Yet, despite this neglect, Maturity and Stagnation remains an important work that can inspire new thinking about macrodynamics. When one rereads Maturity and Stagnation, it is clear that Steindl intended this work to supplant the dominant position of Marx’s classically inspired analysis of class conflict, income distribution, and capital accumulation as propounded in Chapter 25 of Volume One of Capital. By presenting a macrodynamic theory based on “competition between capitals”, Steindl hoped to explain economic stagnation as the consequence of the inevitable concentration of industry associated with capitalist development. This chapter attempts to formalize an aspect of Steindl’s theory of capitalist development, namely, the macrodynamic consequences of the transition from a competitive market system to an oligopolistic system. Our goal in doing so is to explore the mechanisms that govern this transition in some detail, thereby gaining a better understanding of the conditions under which industrial concentration may lead to slower growth.
