Reparations -- Yes? (was Re: Joy In Horowitzville)

Daniel Davies d_squared_2002 at yahoo.co.uk
Thu Mar 22 10:15:10 PST 2001


--- "Forstater, Mathew" <ForstaterM at umkc.edu> wrote:
>
> 1) low or no interest loans for homes, businesses
> 2) expanded and strengthened affirmative action
> 3) low or no taxes (of various kinds, for a fixed
> period or forever)
> 4) free/subsidized education/training
> 5) cash payments (lump or periodic)
> 6) government bond payments
> 7) free/subsidized health care
> 8) guaranteed jobs
> 9) land
>

Of these, only the lump sum version of 5), 6) and 9) are ever going to be any good. All the rest are versions of the dole, and fall absolutely to the Noel Pearson's critique of passive welfare which Rob posted back in September last year:

http://nuance.dhs.org/lbo-talk/0009/0657.html http://nuance.dhs.org/lbo-talk/0009/0658.html

Small periodic payments create dependence and destroy solidarity, with fairly horrific consequences in the case of the Australian Aborigines, but with bad consequences everywhere. If you're going to operationalise reparations under capitalism, you've got to come to terms that what matters under capitalism is capital, and that means lumps of the means of production.

d^2

===== For the stronger we our houses do build The less chance there is of being killed

-- William McGonagall.

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