I think that the whole issue is clarified (at least for down-to-earth people such as myself) if we see Marx as critiquing the actually-existing political economy of his time, which was different from political economy _in general_.
On 6/2/07, sartesian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
OK, will check into those works... and try to avoid expressing disagreements as dicta. ----- Original Message ----- From: "michael a. lebowitz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 9:51 AM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] dicta > 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 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
-- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
