carrol cox, a guy!!?? why carrol, you old dog you!
i have been following, very slowly, some of the academic debate type threads and have very much enjoyed this "drive-by" education. marx is even cooler than i had thought. obviously all the misinterpretation stems from the fact that many of his predictions took/are taking longer than expected, but then someone is always waiting for the second coming-today. OR "My impression is that they were treating his as a prophet and applying his ideas mechanistically"
It could happen.
"say nothing about the *current* value theory debate, perhaps because this debate was just beginning to unfold when vol. 2 was completed."
That long ago, hum.
>PS Sorry for the -isms.
>PS Sorry for the -isms.
"If the working class possessed the political power to institute a given reform, would it also have the power to overthrow capital? And if no less power is needed, then why even discuss that particular reform."
IMO the answer to the above is an emphatic and bewildered-- NO! I can think of a lot of reforms that have been or could be accomplished that the working class needs desperately, not theoretically. If some worthy folks had not fought an end to red-lining, the low-down payment that enabled me to buy my house would not have been an option. Maybe that's meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but probably not to anyone much who's actually in the working class. How about more tax defered savings for people with no other retirement product but the $2000 ira. How about getting people excited about the huge payroll tax break they'd get if the cap was lifted ? Desperately needed, easy to understand. How about a property tax that only appeciated with the value of a house upon the sale of that house. Right now, people in metro Atlanta are being financially wounded as hip yuppies and hip cuisines and shopping opportunities come rushing back to the city. Once again, the "urban poor" are being "revitalized" right up the grand wazoo.
Speaking of taxes, would the sales tax apply to the purchase of investment products? I mean, that's the only spending that's ever going to be done with a large percentage of the money of the wealthy.` Would services be taxed, attorney's fees? Are attorney's fees taxed now?
If only the Right bothers to communicate (constantly and strenuously} with the working class, why would anyone think that they would not follow the facists. Shall all the leftist comrades congregate at Stonehenge and will the birth of marxist consciousness?
"Marxism: belief in the inevitability and necessity of the revolutionary
overthrow of capitalism. I don't know why you have such a problem with
it."
But surely he didn't advocate remaining incommunicato.
>
"Sorry for the -isms." Mark, I love your passions and your writing, but be honest, you are not sorry. You're in love with the ism-ness of it all.
"all good ideas will be welcome, I'm sure." Louis, your posts have clarified a lot of points for this poorly educated grrl, and I really believe you believe this, which is why I say to you that when the revolution comes, if it looks at all like Mark's vision, you'll be one of the first ones shot.
"By the way, what is the Tobin tax, shoulds fun. But if it's good and it came up among the G-10(10?), I'm afraid that as in the landmine, Rio tradition, it is the US that would be the hold-out.
"someone with a sense of humor is going to run through the SEC databases and see how many times the name Grand Caymans pops up. It would be intersting to know who all is involved. Then to ask why? I'll bet the excuses would be funny." I think this would be serious and important work and it's a hell of a good idea, as is anything that shines a spotlight on what a giant con capitalism is on the majority of the people. You don't have to be poor to suffer. Talk of corruptions from this country is laughable. We are the godfathers of the con. WE are the Global Warlords, the Big Cigars. The Grand Caymans R US. Or so anyone with bombs and planes would think.
" Marx wrote that his law of the tendential fall in the profit rate is *the* most important law of modern political economy, and he puts forth a theory of economic crisis in vol. III of Capital based on it." Now that's fucking brilliant! And brilliant minds are elastic, nary an -ism to be found. Too bad Marx is dead. We could really use him as we face these probably tragic times to come.
Well as I retire, once again my tax dollars are killing people all over the world, sometimes I think "They" are all "our" guys.
So it goes--paula