> > not really. marx thought that what distinguished us _as_ humans was that
>we
> > labored, collectively and cooperatively, in order to live. the essence of
> > what it means to be human is work: "What [individuals]...are coincides
>with
> > their production, both with _what_ they produce and with _how_ they
> > produce. The nature of individuals thus depends on the material conditions
> > determining their production." (The German Ideology)
> >
>
>Did he? Don't ants and bees etc labour collectively and cooperatively?
i'd say that you need to examine the quote from marx that i quoted at you. you seem to be suggesting that work is something we should want to avoid in principle, rather than something that is fundamentally part of character as humans, as marx saw it. insects, for marx, as you well know if you know the quote, are unlike humans because they don't consciously think about what they are going to do in the future, together, let alone work together cooperatively, reflecting on that process, rather than instinctively as insects do.
>The
>difference is humans intervene and adapt 'the material conditions
>determining their production'. For Marx communism meant expanding the
>horizons of humanity beyond a particular form of social power that tries to
>reduce our lives to 'work'.
>
>EE
marx thought we could create a world in which labor wasn't seen as dehumanizing, but fulfilling our fundamental natures as laboring beings. work was fundamental to the human essence, for marx.
kelley