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Walter Daum posted the following comment in relation to the group which
is reading and discussing my Contradictions of "Real Socialism": the
Conductor and the Conducted (Monthly Review Press, 2012):
As I see it, Marx’s orchestra metaphor was meant to describe labor under
capitalism, and I guess (because I’m still reading) that Lebowitz
applies it also to labor under “real socialism.” Those are both
exploitative class societies. But things would not be the same under
Marx’s proposed society of associated producers (communism), where all
share the decision-making powers of the conductor even though at any
moment they may assign the leadership task to one person. If that is
“protagonistic democracy,” then I think that’s what Marx advocated.
I have two basic problems with Lebowitz’s take. 1) If he believes that
for Marx an imposed authority (conductor vs. conducted) applies even
under communism, I don’t see where he finds that in Marx’s work. 2) Nor
do I see how the desired protagonistic democracy can be attributed to
Chavez’s Venezuela, where the first step towards communism – the
overthrow of capitalist power – had not been taken.
Firstly, note that Marx used the metaphor about the necessity of the
conductor for /every/ socially combined labour process on a large scale
and, further, described as the "special work" of the conductor "to
secure a harmonious cooperation of the activities of individuals". I
talk a bit further in Ch. 8 in my subsequent book, The Socialist
Imperative (Monthly Review Press, 2015) about how this conception in
practice in "real socialism" can produce at best "consultative
participation" which provides an opportunity to improve the plan of the
conductor. In contrast, if he reads further in Contradictions, he'll
come across Chapter 7, "Toward a Society of Associated Conductors".
With respect to Walter's second point, he should read what I've
written about Venezuela, starting with Build it Now: Socialism for the
21st Century (Monthly Review Press [again], 2006) where he'll see that I
have identified the existence of germs of protagonistic democracy there
(eg., communal councils, communes, workers control in state industries
and recovered factories) with no illusion that the struggle to nurture
these would be necessarily successful (despite Chavez's hopes); there
are no guarantees when it comes to class struggle. The communal council
and commune experiences have been mixed because of competing tendencies
and streams of top-down and bottom-up; and, despite Chavez's assertion
that without workers control there is no socialism, from what I saw when
there those exciting new shoots of worker management were effectively
stomped out by a motley cast of actors including statist conductors,
corrupt bureaucrats and economistic Chavist trade unions (cf the Alcasa
story). But the struggle continues.
in solidarity,
michael
--
---------------------
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Home: Phone 604-689-9510
Cell: 604-789-4803
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