ok. then we have a terminology issue here. so probably best not to use the word
rational. Usually when people discuss whether discrimination is 'rational' in
the context of capitalism they mean within the logic of capitalism, so in
mainstream economics 'rational' means profit-maximizing or cost-minimizing, and
in Marxist economics it can mean these but also more broadly in terms of the
'logic' of capitalist accumulation and social relations. In Gary Becker's
original work on econ of discrimination capitalists had to pay for their 'taste'
for discrimination in the form of lower profits. In terms of the radical
political economy or neo-Marxist tradition, capitalists benefit from racism (as
do some high wage white workers), so racism is 'rational' from their point of
view. But white workers as a group are seen to suffer, even in the short term.
They are 'duped' by capitalist divide-and-conquer tactics. This is the position
that has been taken on by Darity, Myers, Williams, Botwinick, etc., in work that
I think is well-worth studying for anyone interested in Marxist economics, race,
class and gender, etc., and also real life organizing.
Mat
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Brown [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 11:56 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [PEN-L:8855] Racism in the Interest of White Workers?
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 03/08/01 12:31PM >>>
irrational for who? what do you people mean by 'rational'?
is class exploitation irrational? is unemployment irrational in a capitalist
economy?
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CB: No doubt "rational" can be calculated from a number of means/ends
relationships, but the one I would focus on is rational from the standpoint of
the group of people as a whole, which with more and more globalization gets to
be from the standpoint of the human species as a whole. This is a link with
democracy, which has as a first principle Popular Sovereignty or The People as a
Whole, now the People of the whole world as a Whole - All Power to all the
People as a Whole. This is not easy to fulfill :>), but it is the goal or
principle we must aim for as democrats. Even if we just stick to the U.S. and
its people as a whole, or Detroit and its people as a whole, the first measure
of the rational is that how does it impact the group _as a whole_ ?
So, class exploitation may be rational for a tiny minority , but the
"commanding" and first rational test is "how does it impact the People as a
whole, to a person, every last one of them ? "
>From a philosophical standpoint , we must start with the whole, and then to the
parts, majority, minority, individual.
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