[lbo-talk] [PSN-CS] Swedish welfare state / Kerala

[Carrol Cox]

Capitalists and capitalist idealogues and propagandists do NOT 
ordinarily define their problem as that of preserving capitalism as 
such: it takes a huge scare for them to think in those terms. Rather, 
they think in terms of a "friendly climate to business." That is the way 
Louis Powell (as quoted by Morgan) expressed it in 1970. And of course, 
there are always conflicting interests among capitalists: ther again, it 
takes a worse scare than the current crisis to make them shift from 
'insular' interests to the interests of the class as such. Some 
capitalists are patriotic; some are not. Some capitalists are naked 
racists; some are not. And these differences are reflected in 
differences among the "political" class as well as among elected 
officials, corporate boards, etc etc.

A query here. It seems that in the various bail-out, the administration 
was more concerned with bond holders than with holders of equity. Is 
this true? And if so, why, and what sort of complexities are involved. 
(I hope Doug can answer these questions.)

In order to judge the intelligence involved (or missing) in governmental 
response to these various interests and to the "problems" as seen by 
these various interests, we would have to know a hell of a lot more than 
any of us do. (There is, incidentally, a huge and quite bitter clash of 
interests between capital behind CME and capital behind the big banks.)

No one on this list is in a position to know the fundamental _purposes_ 
of policy makers; and without that knowledge it is arrogant and ?stupid? 
to judge how "intelligently they are attempting to serve those purposes.

 From an anti-capitalist perspective, the politicians are being too damn 
competent. Not very stupid at all.

Carrol