Waistline2
Pardon, my misquoting your definition of an epoch. ^^^^ CB: No problem ^^^ An epoch in the Marxist standpoint is a historical period of time distinguished in its geenral framework on the basis of the mode of production, rather than by "more than one generation." In my estimate this more accurately pays homage to the spirit of Marx. ^^^^^ CB: Well, the mode of production can just be referred to by naming the mode of production. The feudal mode of production. "Epoch" or "age" refers specifically to the time aspect. The epoch of feudalism. The word "epoch" is used to draw attention to the fact that it is a _long_ period of time, not a shorter one. It's true that we decide when the epoch begins and ends based on the beginning and end of a m. of p., but the word "epoch" is used to get at the fact that it's a long period of time. What does "long" mean ? Long relative to what ? I'd say one key thing is that it lets us know, "hey , the rev may not come in our lifetime , buddy ". Otherwise, we could just say the "feudal period of history", which could be short or long. It's an important emotional issue that the rev may not come in our individual lifetimes. It's a philosophical issue, too. In sum, I'd say we use "epoch" to connote a long time relative to individual human lifetimes. Charles _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
