On Mon, 21 Nov 2005, Carrol Cox wrote:
> This inability is ultimately itself rooted in the abstract individualism
> basic to capitalist culture, but is it possible to give a more concrete
> (and less tautological) account?
>
> Carrol
A sketch: capitalist social relations require people who think in terms of discrete entities and quantities. Understanding how things are interdependent screws up accounting: it is practically impossible to calculate the actual costs and benefits of an organization when you take into account the intricate interrelations that make the organization's activities possible (e.g., the role of household labor in the production of business profits). Good accountants and investors and business owners are systematically rewarded for describing the world in terms of discrete entities and systematically ignoring interdependencies. It's just behaviorism 101 (shout out to Jim F.), but I think it pretty much explains it.
Miles