At 08:04 02/06/2007, sartesian wrote:
Michael,
First, I sense I may have personally offended you, and/or others. That
is not at all my intention.
But regarding Marx's statement addressing the First International....
Marx's makes lots of statements that may or may not be consistent with
the focus of the great body of his work....for example, there's the
remark on the possibility of a Russian exceptionalism and agricultural
commune-ism.
My view is that Marx intends, and accomplishes, a "radical"
demystification of political economy, identifying it's root, and the
source for all its branches, in the class relations of society. Upon
that platform, Marx analyzes the conditions for the overthrow of those
relations, and consequently his work should not be regarded as a
substitute, alternative, or even "radical" political economy.
No offence. But I suggest you read my 'Beyond CAPITAL: Marx's
Political Economy of the Working Class' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
You also may find useful my discussion, 'The Politics of Beyond
Capital' in Historical Materialism, 14.4 (2006), a response to the
symposium on the book in 14.2, to see how those revolutionary goals
are advanced by recognising the presence of that alternative
political economy. (In a shorter version, for Louis and others, this
argument can be found in the Afterward to the Turkish edition of
Beyond CAPITAL.) My objection, incidentally, was the way you advanced
your position--- hence the subject header.
michael
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Director, Programme in 'Transformative Practice and Human Development'
Centro Internacional Miranda, P.H.
Residencias Anauco Suites, Parque Central, final Av. Bolivar
Caracas, Venezuela
fax: 0212 5768274/0212 5777231
http//:centrointernacionalmiranda.gob.ve
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