[WS:] It depends how you define capitalism. If it is a value system based on the "homo economicus" or "economic rationality" model that treats selfish individualism and hoarding of profits at the expense of entire society without any obligation to reciprocate as the fundamental norm of human behavior - it is an aberration that emerged and gained popularity only very recently, some two hundred or so years ago. The norm for humankind was the opposite - social solidarity and reciprocity - because it was essential for survival.
Wojtek
On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 7:12 PM, Eubulides <autoplectic at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 3:36 PM, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
>
> > And that brings us, or at leas me, back to where we started: Capitalism,
> a
> > historical aberration, opened up immense possibilities but only through
> the
> > destruction of capitalism can those speculative possibilities become a
> > material possibility (the future is never certain), and the widespread
> > belief in the givenness of Progress endlessly hampers that struggle.
>
>
> ================
>
> Remind us again; what's the non-aberrate baseline historical epoch
> which facilitates your judgement that capitalism is an aberration?
>
> Ian
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>