>>> dhenwood at panix.com 08/07/01 04:22PM >>>
>
>Doug: Capitalism isn't natural - it's a social construction. Money isn't
>natural - it too is a social construction. But they're pretty
>powerful little fuckers, aren't they?
>
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>CB: Yes, but it may be important to keep repeating the category
>"capitalism" in order to destroy its social relation.
Well, yes, the point is to destroy the social relation. But Leninism, and the Soviet model, tried to destroy capitalism by creating a new form of class society - a ruling class whose power depended on their position in the state hierarchy, not their ownership of capital, but a ruling class nonetheless.
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CB: The general proposal of Marxism is that in socialism , the transition from capitalismt to communism, the working class become the ruling class, replacing the capitalist ruling class. I don't see the experience of the Soviet Union as teaching that this general goal should be abandoned.
I would look more to the failure to build socialism in the U.S. and Western Europe to join the Soviet revolution as the main failure in the first efforts to destroy capitalism. The main imperialist nations had too much more military and economic power which they were able to use to destroy the SU through wars, threat of war, and economic blockades. The organization of the SU as a military hierarchy was pretty much forced on it in order to merely survive.
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So maybe there's a parallel here: creating a new class society is not a good way to destroy the old class society, and putting new spins on racial categories may not be the best way to end racism.
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CB: I thought I just said the main thing with racism is _not_ to focus on changing the racial categories but on changing the social relations. Now you seem to be suggesting that I am focussing on "putting new spins on the racial _categories_" No, I just said put a new spin on the racist social relations ,not on the racial categories. Why are you saying to me that "putting new spins on racial categories may not be the best way to end racism", as if I suggested putting a new spin on racial categories, when I specifically said don't focus on changing the racial categories in trying to end racism ?