Bulca, Ahmet Pinar "The Structure of Economic Relationships in Nova Scotia: A Tentative Approach to Understanding the Dynamics Ensuring Continuity in the Development Process"

Marxian economics state that (Goldsmith, 1978; 13), it is in the nature of capitalism and its drive to accumulate private profits, through the production and gathering of surplus value that regional problems arise. That is, the spatial characteristics of development and underdevelopment are the consequences of capitalist forms of production at all levels. If one region is more developed than others the reason for this imbalance is that the concentration of-the means of production and capital in that region allows more surplus appropriation than an alternative spatial distribution. In line with this, the argument advanced in this thesis is that dependent capitalist forms of production, at both the regional and national levels, are the main reasons for the under-developed economic structure of Nova Scotia.

Furthermore, it is argued that broadly and strictly defined regional policies are designed to satisfy two basic conditions of the capitalist state, accumulation and legitimization by maintaining social conditions for economic growth and for reproducing classes consistent with the dynamics of capitalist economy.

It is also argued that the production relations in offshore development and the State's policies at both governmental levels allow the concentration of surplus appropriation under the control of internationalized capital. As a result they do not ensure the social and economic well-being of Nova Scotians.

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This document was last modified on February 15, 2001.