At 8:27 AM -0700 10/7/04, andie nachgeborenen wrote:
It states that capitalism unleashes the power of technology, which
leads to the gradual improvement of all our lives.
Didn't Marx say the same thing? With more recogniztion of the down
side of course.
Yes, but the recognition of "the down side" of capitalism is not what
distinguishes Marx and Marxists from those who champion capitalism
simply because of its capacity for technological innovations. For
Marx, "the up side" and "the down side" were inseparable under
capitalism, i.e., "the up side" exists because of (rather than
despite) "the down side" and vice versa.
Liberal champions of capitalism, in contrast to Marx, think that, if
only we elect right politicians, implement right policies, educate
our children right, etc., we could have only or mostly "the up side"
with little to no "down side" under capitalism.
In short, what's missing from Fogel, et al is a dialectical view on history.
--
Yoshie
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