[Marxism-Thaxis] German American heritage
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[Marxism-Thaxis] '48'ers
http://www.germanheritage.com/Essays/1848/index.html ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] The Men of 1848
http://www.germanheritage.com/Publications/cronau/cronau12.html The Men of 1848 The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed the arrival on American shores of a vast number of German immigrants, who gained a most significant place in American history: the Men of 1848. Their peculiar name needs explanation. As is commonly known, all political conditions of central Europe had at the beginning of the nineteenth century been overthrown by Napoleon Buonaparte, that great adventurer, who aimed at the erection of a Caesarean Empire, the like of which the world had not seen before. This dream was defeated in the great battle at Leipzig by the inhabitants of the kingdoms and principalities of Germany and those of Austria. Having taken such a heroic part in this gigantic struggle for liberation, the people had hoped for the establishment of constitutional governments, in which they might have part. But this justified expectation was sadly deceived. The rulers, forgetful that the people had saved their thrones, denied it such right, and opened instead a long period of reaction, which manifested its triumph in dark acts of oppression and tyranny. Dissatisfied by the ingratitude of the sovereigns, many patriots, detesting violence, turned their backs on the land of their birth, hoping to find in America new fields for their abilities. Others, unwilling to submit to the petty tyranny of the rulers, -resolved to resist and became leaders in a bitter struggle for liberty, which, dragging along for many years, culminated in the revolutionary outbreaks of the year 1848. The symbols of that sanguinary year were chosen and denote all those Germans and Austrians, who took part in the long struggle, though their participation dated back to earlier years. Among those men were thousands who had reached the highest pinnacle of intellectual development, men with ideal inspirations, who became in America successful promoters of the ethical, moral and material welfare of the people, and gained also widespread influence in the direction of affairs in our federation of States. Among the earlier arrivals, who came between 1820 to 1848, were Karl Follen, Karl Beck, Franz Lieber, Joseph Grund, Johann August Roebling, Georg Seidensticker and Max Oertel , every one an apostle of science, art and home culture. Among the men, who came in 1848 and the years following, were Karl Schurz, Franz Sigel, Peter Osterhaus, Friedrich Hecker, Gustav Körner, Gustav von Struve, Karl Heinzen, Hans Kudlich, August Willich, Konrad Krez, Max Weber, Karl Eberhard Salomo, Julius Stahel, Max Weber, Hermann Raster, Johann Bernhard Stallo, Friedrich Kapp, Lorenz Brentano, Friedrich Hassaureck, Oswald Ottendorfer, Caspar Butz, Theodor Kirchhoff, Karl Douai and many thousand others. In all, Germany lost during the so-called Reaktionszeit more than one and a half million of her best citizens. Germany's loss meant for the United States an invaluable gain, as so many hundred thousands of highly cultured men and women came into this country. While the former German immigration had consisted essentially of farmers, workmen and traders, now scholars and students of every branch of science, artists, writers, journalists, lawyers, ministers, teachers and foresters came in numbers. The enormous amount of knowledge, idealism and activity, embodied in these political exiles, made them the most valuable immigrants America ever received. As they accepted positions as teachers and professors at the schools and universities, or filled public offices, or founded all sorts of newspapers and periodicals, learned societies and social clubs, these men inspired the hitherto dull social life of America, that it gained a much freer and more progressive character. By their able leadership the older German element in the United States improved also greatly. Formerly without close connection and compared with an army of able soldiers but without officers, it now began to form under the leadership of the men of 1848 a community, whose prime efforts were directed toward the welfare of their adopted country and to keep unsullied the fountains of liberty and the rights of men. That among the exiles of 1848 were characters of the same calibre as Franklin and Washington. Source: Rudolf Cronau's German Achievements in Amerika ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] The German Forty-Eighters in America
http://www.germanheritage.com/Essays/1848/1848tolzmann.html The German Forty-Eighters in America: 150th Anniversary Assessment Much has been written about the German Forty-eighters in America, and much more will no doubt appear in the next several years due to the 150th anniversary of the 1848 Revolution in 1998. Although small in number, perhaps ten thousand at the most, 48ers wielded great influence on the social, cultural, and political life of the German element in the U.S. In appraising the significance of the Forty-eighters as we approach the 150th anniversary, it is well to examine how they were assessed 50 years ago on the occasion of the centennial of the 1848 Revolution. In 1947, A.E. Zucker wrote. The Forty-eighters, as they are generally called, contributed to American life a large number of individuals of whom every American can be proud. The American background during the fifties and sixties of the nineteenth century was such that these ardent lovers of freedom found a fine field for their activities here after their effort to establish a republic in Germany, largely on the basis of the ideals of Washington and Jefferson, that had fallen victim to Prussian reaction. This interaction of the German emigre group on American life and on the American background on them constitutes a fascinating and an unusually fortunate moment in history. According to Carl Wittke, the men and women of 1848 were the heirs of the liberal tradition of Kant, Fichte, Schiller, and others, who contributed to the flowering of German culture in America. Although the Forty-eighters themselves formed a recognizable group in German-American history, they were also a rather diverse group representing a wide spectrum of individuals and perspectives. It is generally known that the Forty-eighters played an important role in German-American history, but what exactly were their major areas of influence? Identifying such areas where the Forty-eighters exerted an influence may assist us in assessing their role in American history in general and German-American history in particular. Indeed, it may even result in the identification of other areas, which are in need of examination. In an initial attempt at identifying some of the major areas of impact, the following cursory list has been assembled: Leadership: In German-American communities across the country, Forty- eighters assumed positions of ethnic leadership, especially with German- American organizations and in the German-american press. As socio-political activists, they clearly viewed themselves as having a mission to fulfill, which translated into the gravitation of Forty-eighters into positions of community leadership. This in turn resulted in the solidification of the German element as never before as the German vote now became a matter to reckon with. Not only did they provide ethnic leadership at the state and local levels, but one of them, Carl Schurz, emerged as a national spokesman. Organizational Life: The Forty-eighters not only contributed to already existing organizations, but founded new ones, such as the Turners, which exist to the present time. They also played leadership roles in other national organizations, such as the Nord-Amerikanischer Saengerbund, established in 1849. Later on, Forty-eighters were involved in the planning of the 1883 German-American Bicentennial at Philadelphia, which became the model of the 1983 German-American Tricentennial. A co-organizer of the 1883 Bicentennial, C.J. Hexamer, was the son of a Forty-eighter, who, of course, laid the formation of the National German-American Alliance. Cultural Life: The Forty-eighters contributed to a renaissance of German-American cultural life in the nineteenth century in the areas of the press, literature, theater, music, arts and crafts. In the area of education, they strongly supported German bilingual instruction, as well as physical education due to their support of public, secular educational systems. Political Life: As political activities, the Forty-eighters sought to realize their ideals of humanitarianism, cosmopolitanism, liberty, justice, and education for all by means of active involvement in the political process. The Louisville Platform is a case in point, as it demonstrates two characteristics of the Forty-eighters. First, the Forty-eighters were people of principles, which had been thought out and structured into action. This was clearly evident in the 1850s and the Civil War, which need not be reviewed here. However, their role during the time of national political crisis has certainly been recognized, and was already at the time by Lincoln, who rewarded many Forty-eighters with military and political appointments. Conclusion: As the role of the Forty-eighters is evaluated in the coming years, more light will no doubt be shed on the role they played in American history, all of which most likely reaffirm their contributions in terms of ethnic leadership, as well as
[Marxism-Thaxis] The German Revolution of 1848/49
The German Revolution of 1848/49 by the German Information Center The dream of German unity had been dreamt before. Long before the post-World War II division of Europe and long before silent revolutions in Eastern Europe ended that division, there was another time when Germans took to the streets to demand freedom and unity and for a few months seemed to achieve their goal. This month in today's free and united Germany, its citizens recall and honor those revolutionaries of 1848. And by the same token, they reflect on how their history might have been changed if the revolution of 1848 had achieved its aims. Germany before 1848 was fragmented and retained much of the feudal system. It was a place of many large and small principalities, many of them ruled by absolute sovereigns; it seethed with territorial rivalries and conflicting interests. Its people were the aristocracy and the downtrodden masses of peasants and land workers, as well as tradesmen, craftsmen and small shop owners. Revolution A strong, although not unified, movement of liberal and democratic opposition began forming early in the 19th century. Though of varied political beliefs, all sought such basic rights as freedom of the press, trial by jury and constitutional systems of government in the states, as well as the unification of Germany into one nation-state. Social and political tensions grew toward the end of 1847 as an economic crisis, including a failed harvest that sparked food riots, spread through Europe; the number of people's gatherings and peasants' revolts increased. Finally, an uprising in Paris in February 1848 sparked similar armed uprisings in Vienna and Berlin; these two cities, as well as Baden and the southwest of Germany, were to form the centers of the revolution. The German rulers were frightened enough to grant concessions: they promised liberal constitutions, appointed liberals to ministries, promised freedom of the press, the freedom to hold meetings and a German national parliament. Frankfurt was the center of revolutionary activity and the site of the National Assembly that was convened by the revolutionary movement and officially opened on May 18, 1848 in St. Paul's Cathedral (Paulskirche). From the beginning, the work of the Assembly was hampered -- and finally crippled -- by the political divisions among its members. In fact, power struggles among conservatives, liberals and left-wing democrats led to an abandonment of the original revolutionary program even before the Assembly convened. From the beginning, the liberal/bourgeois positions taken by a majority of Assembly members focused on appeasement and compromise with the states. The Assembly did not reflect the social composition of the nation. Dubbed the professor's parliament, it was dominated by civil servants and academics who brought to their task intellectual commitment but little knowledge of what was politically feasible. About a sixth of the deputies came from trade and industry and the landed gentry. Peasants and workers remained without direct representation. In addition to philosophical and ideological conflicts, the Assembly was hampered by the fact that its members had no established parliamentary procedure to draw upon, and that political groupings were fluid. The result was a plethora of petitions, motions and speeches on every single point. The Assembly had two primary tasks: to draw up a national constitution and to create a centralized government. It formed a temporary Imperial government, but its composition reflected the problems of relations between a unified German state and the individual states, particularly Austria and Prussia. The election of the Austrian Archduke Johann as Imperial Administrator was seen as promotion of Austrian interests. The Assembly was unable to invest this central administration with power and authority. The newly created government had no civil service and no army, and a number of German monarchs refused to swear the allegiance of their troops to the Imperial Administrator. The summer months of 1848 were spent in debates over the formulation of Basic Rights for the German People and they were promulgated in December 1848. Truly revolutionary in this class-based, hierarchical society, the basic rights proclaimed equal opportunity and equal rights for all citizens before the law. The Beginnings of Reaction Opposition was forming and new crises brewed even as the Basic Rights were being drawn up. The National Assembly lent support to nationalists in Schleswig-Holstein, which was threatened by annexation by Denmark, by sending Prussian troops. On September 21, radical democrats proclaimed the German Social Republic; but were beaten back by the united armies of Prussia, Austria, Hessen and Bavaria. In Frankfurt, the National Assembly was directly threatened by opponents of the cease-fire in Schleswig-Holstein. Again the weak National
[Marxism-Thaxis] The Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848 Revolutions of 1848, series of violent uprisings in European countries where legal attempts at economic and political change had proven unsuccessful. The revolutions were initiated by members of the middle class and nobility who began demanding constitutional and representative governments, and by workers and peasants who revolted against developing capitalist practices that were resulting in greater poverty. Participating in the revolutions were Poles, Danes, Germans, Italians, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Croats, and Romanians who demanded self-determination from the empires that dominated them. Although governmental changes achieved by the revolutions of 1848 were short-lived, the revolutions influenced the course of European government in the long term by undermining the concept of absolute monarchy and establishing an impetus for liberalism and socialism. Revolution first erupted on February 22, 1848 in France, where supporters of universal suffrage (voting rights) and the socialists, led by Louis Blanc, overthrew King Louis Philippe and established the Second Republic. However, differences within the new government over political and economic reforms led to bloody street battles in Paris. At the end of 1848 the nephew of Napoleon I, Louis Napoleon, was elected president. The February revolution in France sparked movements for unification in several German and Italian states. Liberals in the German states proposed the formation of an elected national parliament for a united Germany. But the provisional government could not decide on a form for the new Germany, and the old order was restored. Growing nationalism among the Czechs, Hungarians, Germans, and other groups under the control of the Austrian empire led to rioting. The news from Paris inspired popular demonstrations that drove the conservative minister Klemens von Metternich from office. A sequence of German liberal reform ministries followed, but the other nationalities within the Austrian Empire wished to control their own affairs. On March 5, Hungary, which was under Austrian rule, the patriot Lajos Kossuth assumed control of a break-away government and declared independence for all Hungarian lands. Kossuth's extreme Hungarian nationalism alienated many of Hungary's minority groups. As a result, the Serbs, Croats, and Transylvanians, with the help of Austrian and Russian troops, defeated the Hungarian bid for independence in 1849. In Italy, where the expulsion of Austria had long been the goal of the Italian unity movement called the Risorgimento, a Venetian republic was proclaimed, and a revolution in Milan (March 18-22) was promptly supported by a new liberal regime in Sardinia-Piedmont. But the tide soon turned. The revolution forced the flight of Pope Pius IX and led Giuseppe Mazzini, an advocate of unification, to set up the short-lived Roman republic in 1849. The Italian states, however, proved too protective of their independence to achieve unity. Although these revolutions in the German and Italian states failed, the movement for unification gained strength in later years-resulting in the unifying of Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871. In June, Czech leader Frantisek Palacky organized a Pan-Slav Congress in Prague to demand equality with the Germans. On June 17, Austrian forces crushed this rebellion and a month later regained control in Milan. Then a constituent assembly convened in Vienna to draft a constitution for the empire. It succeeded in abolishing serfdom, but in October it was driven from Vienna by a working-class rebellion; its work was later repudiated by a new prime minister, Felix Schwarzenberg. In December the young Francis Joseph succeeded Ferdinand I as emperor of Austria and imposed a severely centralized administration. On Apr. 13, 1849, the Hungarians, under Lajos Kossuth, declared their independence. Schwarzenberg called in a Russian army, and in August the Hungarians surrendered. That summer a Roman republic created by Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi collapsed, and the Austrian forces recaptured Venice. The Hambacher Convention in Maz 1832 was the first mass-meeting of the nationalists, who later promoted the German Revolution of 1848. In Germany, too, the Paris revolution inspired unrest. A bloody confrontation in Berlin (March 15-21) forced the Prussian king Frederick William IV to summon a constitutional assembly, an example followed in other German states. Above all, however, the liberals hoped to create a unified German empire, and to this end the Frankfurt Parliament was elected and convened (May 18). It adopted a bill of rights and a moderately democratic form of government. When Schwarzenberg made clear his determination to centralize Austria, however, the Frankfurt Parliament decided to exclude the German-speaking provinces of Austria from the German empire and in March 1849 offered the crown of a constitutional Germany to the king of
[Marxism-Thaxis] The 1848ers
The 1848ers When the Revolution of 1848 in Prussia, along with upheavals in minor German states led to the convening of a German National Assembly in Frankfurt's Paulskirche, the aspirations of middle-class liberates toward national unity, civil liberties and democracy seemed at first to be nearing fulfillment. But their revolutionary hopes of transforming the loose German Confederation into a unified and democratically constituted German Empire were soon dashed by the conservative-minded establishment, and reaction triumphed. Of the liberal nationalists who now became political refugees, over four thousand went into exile in America, the country whose revolutionary ideals had served them as an example. The German Forty-Eighters in America: 150th Anniversary Assessment by Don Tolzmann The Men of 1848An introductory by Rudolf Cronau from his book German Achievements in Amerika. Unity and Justice and Freedom: The German Revolution of 1848/49by the German Information Center The Revolutions of 1848 Forty-Eighters and Nativists Part1: Coming to America Part2: Establishing German Organizations in America Part3: Germans Face Discrimination Civil War and Reconstruction Germans and Political Interest The Volunteer Army The Political Involvement Related Information: The German Revolutions of 1848 by Robert A. Selig for German Life Magazine Likes Attract: German Clubs and the Display of Germanness from the German-Americans an Ethnic Experience Book Xenophobia American Nativism from the German-Americans an Ethnic Experience Book History of the Thirty-Second Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] M
Marxism Theoretical works The Communist Manifesto Das Kapital The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon Grundrisse The German Ideology Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Theses on Feuerbach Sociology and anthropology Alienation · Bourgeoisie Class consciousness Commodity fetishism Communism Cultural hegemony Exploitation · Human nature Ideology · Proletariat Reification · Socialism Relations of production Economics Labour power · Law of value Means of production Mode of production Productive forces Surplus labour · Surplus value Transformation problem Wage labour History Anarchism and Marxism Capitalist production Class struggle Dictatorship of the proletariat Primitive capital accumulation Proletarian revolution Proletarian internationalism World Revolution Philosophy Historical materialism Dialectical materialism Analytical Marxism Marxist autonomism Marxist feminism Marxist humanism Marxist geography Structural Marxism Western Marxism Libertarian Marxism Young Marx Prominent figures Karl Marx · Friedrich Engels Karl Kautsky · Georgi Plekhanov Rosa Luxemburg Antonie Pannekoek Vladimir Lenin · Leon Trotsky Georg Lukács · Guy Debord Antonio Gramsci · Karl Korsch Che Guevara · Frankfurt School Jean-Paul Sartre Louis Althusser Criticism Criticisms of Marxism All categorised articles Communism Portal This box: view ● talk ● edit This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) It has been suggested that Classical Marxism be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Any political practice or theory that is based on an interpretation of the works of Marx and Engels may be called Marxism. There is still a significant[citation needed] and vital[citation needed] presence of marxist approaches in academic fields of research, trailing almost as an afterthought; these include anthropology, media studies, Theatre, history, economics, literary criticism, aesthetics and philosophy.[1] The constitution of the Communist Parties and Communist states was grounded in Marxism; the basic difference between Communism in general and Marxism, is that Communism aims at the realization of a Communist society, while Marxism is a theoretical-practical framework based on the analysis of the conflicts between the powerful and the subjugated.[2][3] As a consequence of this, there are many Marxist scholars and thinkers which adverse a communist society. While there are many theoretical and practical differences among the various forms of Marxism, most forms of Marxism share: a belief that capitalism is based on the exploitation of workers by the owners of capital a belief that people's consciousness of the conditions of their lives reflects material conditions and relations an understanding of class in terms of differing relations of production, and as a particular position within such relations an understanding of material conditions and social relations as historically malleable a view of history according to which class struggle, the evolving conflict between classes with opposing interests, structures each historical period and drives historical change The main points of contention among Marxists are the degree to which they are committed to a workers' revolution as the means of achieving human emancipation and enlightenment, and the actual mechanism through which such a revolution might occur and succeed. Marxism is correctly but not exhaustively described as a variety of Socialism being by far the variety for which there is the most historical experience[citation needed] both as a revolutionary movement and as the basis of actual governments[citation needed]. Some Marxists, however, such as Trotskyists, argue that no actual state has ever fully realized Marxist principles; other Marxists, such as Autonomists claim Marxist principles cannot be realized in any state construct seen through the 20th Century, and would necessitate a reconceptualization of the notion of state itself. Contents [hide] 1 Classical Marxism 1.1 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 1.2 Early influences 1.3 Main ideas 1.4 Class 1.5 Marx's theory of history 2 Marxist school of thought 2.1 Western Marxism 2.1.1 Structural Marxism 2.1.2 Neo-Marxism 2.1.3 The Frankfurt School 2.1.4 Cultural Marxism 2.1.5 Autonomist Marxism 2.1.6 Analytical Marxism 2.1.7 Marxist humanism 2.1.8 Key Western Marxists 2.1.8.1 Georg Lukács 2.1.8.2 Karl Korsch 2.1.8.3 Antonio Gramsci 2.1.8.4 Herbert Marcuse 2.1.8.5 Jean-Paul Sartre 2.1.8.6 Louis Althusser 2.1.8.7 E.P. Thompson, Christopher Hill and Eric Hobsbawm 2.2 Post Marxism 2.3 Marxist Feminism 3 Marxism as a political practice 3.1 History 3.2 Social Democracy 3.3 Socialism 3.4
[Marxism-Thaxis] Leap Backward
http://www.feer.com/features/2008/april/Japans-Great-Leap-Backward April 2008 Japan's Great Leap Backward by Marc Goldstein Posted April 10, 2008 Tokyo — Japan’s stock markets are caught in a vicious cycle, a downward spiral of take-over fears and flagging stock values that politicians and regulators seem incapable of bringing to an end. Sadly, the biggest losers here are not those who play the market, but those Japanese households that are unable to rely on the markets to provide an adequate return on the pension-fund assets invested there. Japan’s benchmark Topix index has fallen more than 25% over the past 12 months, compared to a near 5% drop in the SP 500. Part of this decline can be explained by the pressure on Japanese earnings from the weak U.S. economy and the yen’s strength against the dollar, and by profit-taking by foreign investors. But there are other factors at work as well. In response to a series of (unsuccessful) hostile takeover attempts, Japanese companies have rushed to implement poison pills, rebuild cross-shareholdings, and otherwise protect themselves against even the possibility of a hostile acquisition. In the absence of a genuine market for corporate control and the attendant pressure on management, merger premiums still lag behind those in the U.S.—as do dividend payout ratios and returns on equity—meaning that the Japanese market offers neither developing country growth rates, nor developed country income. It is hardly surprising that foreign investors have been reducing their holdings of Japanese shares, and hardly surprising that Japanese investors have not been rushing to replace them. As stock valuations plunge, companies find themselves even more vulnerable to an opportunistic takeover, which only increases their motivation to take defensive steps, which in turn drive away ordinary investors, perpetuating the cycle. In the U.S., poison pills designed to lessen a firm’s attractiveness are supposed to be used by target company boards as negotiating tools to win better terms from a would-be acquirer, or a white knight. But in Japan, where boards are still dominated by lifelong employees, pills have been used to delay such negotiations or avoid them completely. The reluctance of domestic investors to file lawsuits in such cases means that boards get away with blatant entrenchment. In a sense, the return of cross-shareholdings—reversing 15 years of progress in unwinding such relationships—is even worse for the market than poison pills. As Japanese companies learned when the 1980s bubble burst, tying up corporate assets in the shares of a business partner is a risky strategy: By committing to hold such shares indefinitely, and vote them with management in all situations, corporate shareholders are denying themselves both a voice and an exit—a situation which is hardly conducive to maximizing the value of the investment. According to estimates by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, the overall value of corporate shareholdings fell 30% in 2007-08, meaning that such holdings underperformed the Topix and the Nikkei 225. Yet out of fear of hostile takeovers, Japanese companies seem determined to ignore the lessons of the post-bubble years, and are continuing to buy shares. Mark-to-market accounting is forcing companies to take losses as the value of these holdings declines, and once again the falling profits and falling share prices reinforce each other in a vicious cycle. But cross-shareholdings do more than put corporate assets at risk. They reduce liquidity by lowering the free float, and send a signal to the market that ordinary shareholders’ interests are not a priority. Owning shares in a customer or supplier is bad enough, but companies in Japan’s steel and paper industries are buying shares in companies that are ostensibly their competitors. Why should a fund manager buy shares in a company whose own executives would rather use spare cash to invest in a rival than to invest in their own business? Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has jurisdiction over the pension system, but is unable to regulate corporate behavior that threatens the solvency of that system. The Ministry of Economy, Trade Industry, meanwhile, claims to want to increase foreign investment in Japan, but has also been helping companies block any investments they’re not ready to accept. And addressing the market downturn seems far down on politicians’ list of priorities. That leaves the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which could ameliorate the situation with stricter rules on free floats and concentration of ownership, and above all by requiring the appointment of independent directors to help protect shareholders’ interests. The TSE has historically been more attuned to the interests of issuers than those of investors, but if it truly wants to be one of the world’s leading markets, it will have to do more to ensure that the companies listed
[Marxism-Thaxis] Some more ending reformatted
Harris has responded in his Letter to a Christian Nation (2006) to the many Christian critics of The End of Faith and especially to the fundamentalists among them. This more recent book of his offers a battery of arguments against conservative Christian positions on a wide variety of issues ranging from theism vs atheism and evolution vs creationism to medical ethics (in regard to abortion and stem-cell research), and it shows that scripturally based morality is incoherent because of contradictory injunctions in the Bible. Given two such contradictory precepts, the believer usually claims Biblical authority for just one of them, chosen according to his own moral feeling; that is tantamount to circular reasoning. Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon presents a scientific explanation of religiosity. Dennett says that it is unnecessary to invoke any kind of supernatural entity or powers (such as deities, spirits or invisible beings) in order to account for the existence of religion, and that the development of a scientific understanding of it is imperative because of its social and cultural importance. He says that this book is addressed primarily to Americans—and not just to academics but also to “curious and conscientious citizens” at large— and that some non-Americans with whom he had shared a draft of the text had found it somewhat provincial; but: “Up to now, there has been [in the USA] a largely unexamined mutual agreement that scientists and other researchers will leave religion alone, or restrict themselves to a few sidelong glances, since people get so upset at the mere thought of a more intensive inquiry. I propose to disrupt this presumption, and examine it.”19 (So he is addressing non-academic readers and trying to persuade fellow academics to embark on scientific investigations of a certain kind.) The book is organized into three main parts. Part I argues that natural science can and should investigate religion. Part II shows how some methods of evolutionary biology, including especially evolutionary psychology and Dawkins’s memetics, can be used to develop theories of how modern religions have evolved from ancient folk beliefs. Part III, focusing on the effects of religion nowadays, addresses such issues as morality and seeking meaning in one’s life. One should avoid certain misunderstandings when evaluating Dennett’s project. A reviewer writing in one of the religious journals says: [I]t does not logically follow that, simply because religion as such is a natural phenomenon, it cannot become the vehicle of divine truth, or that it is not in some sense oriented toward a transcendent reality. To imagine that it does so follow is to fall prey to a version of the genetic fallacy, the belief that one need only determine the causal sequence by which something comes into being in order to understand its nature, meaning, content, uses, or value.20 But Dennett disclaims any attempt in this book to disprove religious beliefs. He does not argue that a scientific explanation of religion, whether along the lines that he proposes or along other lines, would, even if fully verified, disprove the truth-claims of religion. The “spell” that he is primarily hoping to break is not that of religious faith, but the notion that religion is off-limits to scientific inquiry, taboo—though he personally is interested also in breaking what he calls “the second spell, ” i.e. of religion itself. He says that many people, because they are afraid of weakening this second spell, resist the effort to break the first one, but he sees no good reason why they themselves should be unwilling to engage in an inquiry such as his in this book. I can understand their concern, however. To the extent that religion proves susceptible to scientific explanation, some of its plausibility is undermined since the fact that people believe deeply in its claims can then be explained without reference to anything supernatural. If a god exists, He could have used mechanisms such as the natural selection of genes and memes in order to produce human beings disposed to worship Him; and yet the more that is achieved by scientific explanations of religion, the less need may be felt to posit a god in order to explain its existence, since the relevant phenomena would presumably still be the same in the absence of such a Being. Thus a scientific explanation of religion would, I think, tend to undermine its plausibility even without, strictly speaking, disproving its truth-claims. So I expect that many religious believers will resist Dennett’s effort at dispelling the “first spell.” Dennett sees himself as carrying forward Hume’s attempt to develop a “natural history” of religion.21 He sees our propensity to religious faith as having deep roots in human nature, and he tries to
[Marxism-Thaxis] Legume Sam
Legume Sam: Stan says: Leftists to this day invest 90% of their capacity and effort into convincing people of the validity of their arguments. That this might be a strategic error does not in any way invalidate the theoretical arguments. It simply means that we have not found a way to practice what we preach. We have copped to the notion that bad ideas produce bad practice, and in the process we have implicitly accepted that better ideas will produce better practice. So we lay out all the items we would like to see, then set about making elegant arguments for each of them… programs. The arguments are logically sound for the most part, but they never translate into changed practices in society at large. Maybe the ideas still aren’t good enough, then, because they don’t reach into the domain of practice. The idea of TINA, “there is no alternative,” seems to gain its rhetorical force from the seeming inexorability of capitalist discipline, the force binding individuals to the capitalist system. As the capitalist system has removed the possibility of living off of the land from the people, thus the people are obliged to work for money, within the money economy, for a living. What follows is capitalist discipline: the individual is trained to be a cog in a system producing products, but also a surplus, thus ulitmately profits. Within this money system, money itself is a claim upon wage labor, its labor-power — detach the workers from the system, and money no longer buys labor-power, thus the workers are freed to decide how work is to be subjected to what discipline, and toward what end. Thus the dawning of another discipline — ecological discipline. But how? The urban community garden thing looks like an opportunity to detach money from wage labor, if it doesn’t just get stuck in the wage-labor system. From there you can get people to organize a movement with the spare time they’ve created, within the space created away from capitalist discipline. Otherwise, you can save the world all you want; but ask others to save it with you and you’ll get one unanimous response: “Sorry, I’m busy.” From all I’ve heard of him, Obama impresses me as one such respondent. Yeah, the first Black President, possibly. But “sorry, I’m busy.” ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Kristol on Marx and Obama on religion, in NYT
It's one thing for Karl Marx to assert that religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature and another for Barack Obama to claim that we cling to ... religion out of economic frustration. CB: Sound like pretty much the same idea to me. I was just going to point out the similarity, when I saw it already noted. Hope of a hopeless situation. ^^^ Full: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/opinion/14kristol.html?ref=opinion ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Vienna Circle etc.
I'm not sure what is relevant to this inquiry, but my web pages related to Husserl and phenomenology are: http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber7.htmlExperience and Subjectivism (Sections I.F-II.D) by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber1.htmlThe Issue of Naturalism vs. Subjectivism by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber2.htmlNaturalism and Subjectivismhttp://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber2.html: Contents by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber6.htmlEdmund Husserl and the Aims of Phenomenology by Marvin Farber Phenomenology and Existence: Toward a Philosophy Within Nature by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber9/PE-0.htmlContents Foreword http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber9/PE-mp.htmlMarvin Farber on Maurice Merleau Ponty http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber3.htmlThe Search for an Alternativehttp://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber3.html I: Subjectivism, Phenomenology, Marxism, and the Role of Alternatives by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber5.htmlThe Search for an Alternativehttp://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber5.html 8: The Historical Outcome of Subjectivism by Marvin Farber http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber4.htmlThe Search for an Alternativehttp://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber4.html 9: From the Perspective of Materialism by Marvin Farber Phenomenology and Natural Existence: Essays in Honor of Marvin Farber, edited by Dale Riepe http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber8/PNE-0c.htmlContents Acknowledgements http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/farber8/PNE-0i.htmlIntroduction by Dale Riepe http://www.autodidactproject.org/quote/marcuse5.htmlThe Concept of Essence (Excerpt: Phenomenology) by Herbert Marcuse http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/marcuse7.htmlOn Science and Phenomenology by Herbert Marcuse http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/marcuse8.htmlComment on the Paper by H. Marcuse by Aron Gurwitsch http://www.autodidactproject.org/my/adornohuss.htmlAdorno contra Husserl by Ralph Dumain http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/lifeworld1.htmlLife-World within Brackets by David H. DeGrood http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/degrood1.htmlThe Appearance of Reality and the Reality of Appearance by David H. DeGrood At 09:29 PM 4/3/2008, CeJ wrote: JF: I am interested in them because of my general interest in the philosophy of science and the broader implications: culturally, socially and politically of differing philosophies of science. Concerning the Vienna Circle, I am in agreement with George Reisch that because of the peculiarities of the reception of logical empiricism into the anglophone world, especially in the US, people have generally failed to understand or appreciate the broader concerns of the Vienna Circle, so that it was generally understood in the US as having been mainly about modern logic and the philosophy of science, whereas they in fact had much broader interests. I'm interested in issues in philosophy of social sciences (psycho-, logico-formal, cognitive, linguistic, social, etc.), but my limited knowledge of the VC leads me to think (perhaps quite wrongly) there wasn't much fruitful work done amongst them in such areas. I haven't had time to search down info. on all the official members listed in that manifesto. And although Popper never got listed as a VC member (and was down officially as an opponent of the logical positivists), they published at least of his books, didn't they? Of their contemporaries, I find Husserl and Vygotsky much more interesting on scientific approaches to the social and psychological realms. And in education, I would cite Freire and his use of non-positivistic approaches. (You could say variations of positivism pervade academic social sciences in the anglophone world and much of Europe. And that would include the way academia co-opts 'practitioner sciences' in order to make more high-paying work for itself and to control certification and indoctrination in education and other applied and clinical specialities. For example, academic approaches to 'qualitative research' , 'classroom resarch', and 'action research'.) Husserl, I believe, is a hugely under-estimated influence on so much of modern and post-modern philosophy. Directly and indirectly. He got somewhat dismissed because of anglo-analytic propaganda about Frege. Popper seems to have got some of his ideas about open society directly from Husserl, but Popper is a direct product of the logical positivists/empiricists and Husserl is not. He is a true opposition to it. You can dismantle Popper with Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerabend. You can find parallels between late Popper and Piaget. But you can also demolish Popper using Husserl's analysis of why positivist programs fail in the 'sciences of man'. Interestingly enough Carnap's
[Marxism-Thaxis] Dear Friend of United for Peace and Justice,
Dear Friend of United for Peace and Justice, Tomorrow is Tax Day! People all around the country will be calling attention to how our tax dollars are used, and making the connection between our country's current financial troubles and the more than $505 billion that has already been spent on the occupation of Iraq. Ideas for taking action and educating others on April 15th: * Hand out leaflets making the connections between the war and our growing economic crisis here at home. (See below for resources.) You can distribute this material at your local post office, at busy transportation hubs during rush hour, and in other locations where you can talk with people, including where you work or go to school. * Sign our open letter to Rep. John Murtha, and encourage others to do so as well. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/openletter * Call in to local radio talk shows, or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ * Call your representatives and your senators in Congress and urge them to use their power to bring all of the troops home! http://capwiz.com/fconl/directory/congdir.tt Resources you can use, created by UFPJ and a few of our member groups: 1) The War Resisters League's federal pie chart illustrates how much of our tax dollars really go toward military spending. http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm 2) This new UFPJ leaflet urges people to pressure Congress to stop funding the war! The leaflet has a box for you to add local contact information -- just click inside that box and type. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/2008supplementalleaflet.pdf 3) Healthcare Not Warfare is a new campaign initiated by PDA: http://pdamerica.org/articles/misc/2008-02-29-14-19-42-misc.php 4) The National Priorities Project's website has up-to-date breakdowns of what the war in Iraq is costing your state and your community! http://www.nationalpriorities.org/ And if you're receiving a refund this year, please consider dedicating some or all of it to peace! Click here to donate to UFPJ: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/donate Yours, for peace and justice, Leslie Cagan National Coordinator, UFPJ === Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today: www.unitedforpeace.org/donate UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 PO Box 607; Times Square Station; New York, NY 10108 To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/302/unsubscribe.jsp ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
