Thanks for this, Scot! Apologies for the late reply. I must have overlooked your message at the time. I just came across it now 🙂
Since I posted this question, I have actually managed to read most of Tim’s work – including the two books you recommended. I’ve found them to be really valuable resources. In my PhD research, I’m drawing quite heavily on Carbon Capitalism.
Your point about capitalists aiming to preserve their wealth by ensuring their return on capital exceeds inflation makes sense. Although would this not generally require them to also beat the average? If Jonathan Nitzan, Shimshon Bichler, and Blair Fix (e.g. https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/11/24/the-truth-about-inflation/) are correct that inflation is driven by power struggles within dominant capital to raise prices faster than their peers, then doesn’t it follow that those whose accumulation exceeds this (average) rate of inflation will also beat the average in terms of differential earnings and capitalization?
Cheers,
Adam