Brian wrote:And if not why

Decreasing means a lessening in size, strength or quantity.I was using the word ‘contradictory’ in the dialectical sense, in the sense that capitalism is composed of various opposing tendencies, the central relation being that between wage labour and capital .For example: Competition between capitalists leads them to invest more and more in machinery and less and less in workers (labour-power) but as labour power is the source of profit this leads to a fall in the rate of profit. But there are also other factors at play which counter this tendancy, not least the devaluation of capital which occurs in a crises.So whether the economic cycle is on the up or the down the basic contradiction, and the need for socialism, is the same.So decreasing means down, the interplay of factors that make a ‘contradiction’ can go either way.Fairly basic stuff?