Doug Henwood wrote, >A recession is not a crisis. If millions of Brazilians took to the streets >and said "Fuck the IMF," and a score of Latin and Asian countries formed a >debtors' cartel and defaulted in sympathy, then that would be a crisis. If >the U.S. dollar crashed and foreigners started calling in their loans, that >too would be a crisis. An ordinary bear market and an ordinary recession is >not a crisis. True enough, an ordinary bear market and an ordinary recession is not a crisis. But are you really saying *this* is an ordinary bear market and an ordinary recession? Are you really saying the 1990s bull market and expansion were an ordinary bull market and an ordinary expansion? I do like the rhyme of "millions of Brazilians", but it rather puzzles me as to how even ten of them could take to the streets without an *analysis* that things are out of whack. If the absence of response is the best proof of the passing of a crisis, then nothing could be more restorative of health than death itself. Doug, you are making one point that I agree with -- defining crisis as a 'moment of vulnerability'. But you are also using that definition of crisis in a veiled polemic against the idea that the analysis of systemic crisis tendencies can offer anything more than sweeping, abstract commentary about the nature of capitalism. The conjuncture be damned. Your reply to Louis Proyect could be summed up in a four word telegram: "Crisis over. Capitalism nasty." The question remains: has financial stability been "restored" or has a hiatus been contrived? Even if the measures agreed to during October are capable of restoring stability, they still have to be implemented. A second set of questions is what will be the price of implementing the financial stabilization measures, who will be made to pay that price and what will be the economic consequences of those measures as implemented? The central bankers and finance ministers may (or may not) have achieved consensus on these questions. That appearance of consensus may be pleasing to the financial speculators. Have we heard the last word? Regards, Tom Walker ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ #408 1035 Pacific St. Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4G7 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (604) 669-3286 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The TimeWork Web: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/
