Comment on Yen starts to appreciate again – as you were! by Philip Lawn

The useful part

Profits are not benefits enjoyed by capitalists until the capitalists give up their profits to obtain useful goods (I.e., spend the profits). A billion dollars left in your bank account all your life unspent and accruing interest is of no benefit to you. I point this out because it is this thinking that misleads people into believing that exports are benefits.

How it works

• Like I said, benefits are only enjoyed once the profits are spent on useful goods.
• What if by producing and selling the goods to foreigners the capitalist has employed the last remaining available resources of the nation?
• What will the capitalist now have to spend her profits on to enjoy consumption benefits?
• the only beneficial option because the capitalist's home nation hasn't got any spare productive capacity to produce additional consumer goods to sell to her!

What to take from it

Presumably because there is insufficient domestic demand.

Details worth keeping

Profits have no use value, only exchange value. "I sell goods to foreigners (export) and earn profits". Why would a capitalist sell goods to foreigners?