kagarlitsky testimony

[Brad De Long]

>Brad De Long wrote:
>
>>The image held by Krugman, Shleifer, Vishny, Boycko, and a host of others
>>(including me) of a *bourgeoisie*--of what happens when you depoliticize
>>the economy, and create a class of people who profit from market exchange
>>and economic growth--is a very old one.
>
>Brad, do you really think there's nothing political about a bourgeoisie?
>That there's no power relation hidden behind the money form? Do you deny
>that for a bourgeoisie to be a bourgeoisie it has to have effective control
>over the state and the ideological apparatus?
>
>Doug

That as long as the army is not exercising direct control (or even if it
is) that whoever is running the government will have to pay a lot of
attention to the desires of the property-owning class--yes, I guess I think
(or thought) that.

And the problem in Russia--or one of the many big problems--is not that the
government doesn't pay enough attention to property-owners, but that it
pays them too much attention: the property-owners don't want to pay taxes,
and the government listens to them. But no modern state can survive unless
it collects enough taxes to pay for its social safety net and to pay its
army...

Brad DeLong