ABSTRACT
The theory of pure capitalism assumes that capital as a commodity logic is totally in charge of economic life, and with this assumption, the theory of pure capitalism's aim is to expose capital's deep structures that outline abstractly the main tendencies of capitalism that are always present, though their institutional manifestations in history may vary. Some of the central tendencies theorized at the level of pure capitalism include the following. The maximization of profit, the expansion of capital, the centrality of industrial capital, the exploitation of labor, the expansion of commodification, the speed up of the turnover of capital, and periodic crises. These structural tendencies that are grounded in the theory of pure capitalism are quite abstract, and though they may form the basis of Marxian political economy, a mid-range theory of phases of capitalist development can help us understand the sequence of dominant or hegemonic forms of profit-maximization in different phases of capitalist development.
