Comrade, thanks for this constructive information...Do you know the links to other chapters? I would like to join in your study sessions/groups to enlightened myself even more....How do I ago about that? I'm based at Jozi CBD.
Thanking in advance for your assistance. Kind Regards, Sibongile Mbele Mobile: +27 76 9001858 Fax: +27 86 695 1227 "Successful people make a habit of doing things other people aren't willing to do" On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 12:14 PM, DomzaNet <[email protected]>wrote: > > *Course on Marx's Capital: Part 23* > > > <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D4UK2kWf5ik/TL7Ajwn-FGI/AAAAAAAACsk/uwpbulseC3A/s1600/MogadishuApril2007+-+2.jpg> > *Mogadishu, 1993* > > *Colonialism* > > Here we are, nearly at the end of Capital, Volume 1, the famous and huge > book that so many people talk about and so few people read. We have read it. > We are more fit to be cadres. We are more fit to be the vanguard. What > remain are only the three last chapters, which are not difficult to read, > although as always they challenge us to be brave and to act, and action will > never be easy. > > In *Chapter 31* Marx states that the origin of the industrial (not > farming) capitalist is in colonialism. > > *“The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, > enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the > beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of > Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalised > the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings > are the chief momenta of primitive accumulation. On their heels treads the > commercial war of the European nations, with the globe for a theatre.”* > > *“To-day industrial supremacy implies commercial supremacy. In the period > of manufacture properly so called, it is, on the other hand, the commercial > supremacy that gives industrial predominance. Hence the preponderant rôle > that the colonial system plays at that time. It was "the strange God" who > perched himself on the altar cheek by jowl with the old Gods of Europe, and > one fine day with a shove and a kick chucked them all of a heap. It > proclaimed surplus-value making as the sole end and aim of humanity.”* > > This last describes in a single sentence, the state of affairs that > Marx's book was written to expose; and Marx did succeed in exposing > “capital” as “surplus-value making”. > > Yet it appears that Marx did not deal with Primitive Accumulation in the > sense that the phrase would nowadays be understood. Marx does not establish > that capitalism required a ready pile of money or its equivalent. What he > establishes is how the requisite class forces were brought into being, in > Western Europe, in the revolutions that overthrew feudalism. > > It is a mistake to think that a capitalist business requires “capital” in > advance, if by “capital” is meant money in the bank, or land, buildings, > equipment et cetera. It does require such things, but they do not make it a > capitalist business as opposed to any other kind of project. What makes a > business work as capitalism is a dual relationship. The first part of it is > the relationship between the worker and the capitalist. The second part is > the relationship of the capitalist with his market. If these two > relationships do not exist, or are faulty, then a capitalist business will > not survive. But if they do exist, then the other means will probably be > found without too much difficulty. > > Marx shows clearly how the proletariat arose historically in Europe in > the 16th century. He shows how the bourgeois class arrives on the scene. He > shows how all the social building blocks including proletariat and market, > are assembled, but not the money. In any case, capital is not money, it is a > relation. Marx says so, directly, in Chapter 33. So the accumulation > necessary for capitalism is not treasure, but is an accumulation of > relationships; this is what we learn from the chapters in “Capital” on > Primitive Accumulation. > > Marx does not, in Capital, make a strong distinction between slavery and > capitalism. He describes slavery candidly and without flinching from the > horror of it. But he never discusses slavery in a comparative way, as > distinct from surplus-value-extracting bourgeois-and-proletarian capitalism. > Yet (bourgeois) slavery also started in the 16th century, or slightly > before, and it ran on as a transcontinental Atlantic system for the next > three hundred years, in parallel with the early development of capitalism > proper, until Marx’s time, such that the last end of bourgeois slavery was > the cataclysm of the American Civil War, that was happening while Marx was > writing Capital. > > *Chapter 32* of Capital, Volume 1 contains about 1000 words in only four > paragraphs. It is a full historical sweep from the past of slaves and serfs > through present capitalism to the future, when the expropriators will be > expropriated. It resembles the Communist Manifesto. > > *Chapter 33* is very interesting but in spite of its title, it is not > really about colonialism. Instead, Marx uses the example of part of one > colony of the time, Australia, to make points about capitalism and to > “discover in the Colonies the truth as to the conditions of capitalist > production in the mother country”. Also note the very last paragraph of the > chapter (and the book), which says: > > *“We are not concerned here with the conditions of the colonies. The only > thing that interests us is the secret discovered in the new world by the > Political Economy of the old world, and proclaimed on the housetops: that > the capitalist mode of production and accumulation, and therefore capitalist > private property, have for their fundamental condition the annihilation of > self-earned private property; in other words, the expropriation of the > laborer.”* > > *“...capital is not a thing, but a social relation between persons, > established by the instrumentality of things,”* says Marx. > > In the next part, we will commence a ten-week course Capital, Volumes 2 > and 3. > > *Please download and read the following document**:* > > *Click here to download Capital V1, C31, 32, 33, Capitalist, > Accumulation, Colonialism, in MS-Word file > format<http://communist-university.googlegroups.com/web/1524%2C+Capital+V1%2C+C31%2C+32%2C+33%2C+Capitalist%2C+Accumulation%2C+Colonialism%2C+1867.doc?gda=D_mB4JUAAAB4MbH-vDwpNagN2sDR9UloMzSG2ynLnrFM4apJjB-9d2hlX2dxbRLV-W0NNomDNgD-0xTaH0GwBed3K-ed6TiTgoourxM03oqR> > * > > > > -- > Posted By DomzaNet to > CUAfrica<http://cuafrica.blogspot.com/2010/10/colonialism.html>at 10/20/2010 > 12:14:00 PM > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to > this address (repeat): [email protected] . > -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. 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