Raghu: > If you deny that capitalist exploitation is morally wrong, what is
it exactly that you have against capitalism anyway?<
Carrol Cox wrote: >... I take it that you do not object to "feudal"
exploitation, only to _capitalist_ exploitation. That seems silly.<
I don't get this. Why cannot Raghu -- or any socialist -- object to
_all_ exploitation, including the capitalist variety?
> Ignoring that sloppiness, how can an abstraction ("exploitation") be either
> right or wrong "morally"? It is either pure gibberish or what it really means
> is that capitalists, as individuals (not as capitalists, an abstraction) are
> bad people. <
It doesn't have to be a matter of individuals' morality or lack
thereof. Moral standards can also be applied to _institutions_: one
can say that given the negative consequences of capitalism (and other
class societies) on individuals -- including, perhaps, the
consequences for the exploiters -- the institution is immoral and
should be abolished. BTW, it is very common to say that institutions
(human-made human organizations) are immoral: for example, some people
say that prostitution is immoral but also understand why individuals
have little choice but to become part of it.
Of course, there's always the argument that capitalism -- or some
other exploitative society -- isn't _really_ immoral because (to quote
the immoral Mrs. T) There Is No Alternative. Is that what you're
arguing, Carrol?
On the other hand, if I understand the old crank correctly, Plato's
argument was that contemporary Athenian society was immoral (or
rather, unjust) because a better society (the Sparta-inspired
Republic) was possible. All we need is a philosopher-king...
BTW, for a variety of different views on this kind of question, see
Nielsen & Patten's book MARX & MORALITY.
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your
own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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