[lbo-talk] Why Markets Fail

[Carrol Cox]

As I have understood his posts over the years (posts which,
incidentally, have seriously aided me in expanding my understanding of
Marx, even when I disagree with them) -- as i understand, Ted believes
that one can define "ratinality" in terms independent of history: that
it is a constant as it were against which partiuclar forms of
consciousness can be judged as more or less rational, more or less
irrational.

I would sharply disagree. Rationality as no meaning independent of the
norms of a given social order. I don't believe it adds to our
understanding and may interfere to bring some abstract conception of
what _we_ think is "rational" to bear on the actions of capital or
capitalists. Rather we should assume that they are reational and then
attempt to define the parameters of that rationality.

Carrol