Re: Lisa replies re: Lisa's anthro

[Ian.Hunt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Ian Hunt)]

Lisa's difficulties with marxian terminology are understandable. Narrow and
inclusive definitions of "economic base" are used and these are cited by
Lisa. The narrow definition equates the base with "social relations of
production" , that is, social relations through which control is exercised
over productive resources so that they serve particular social ends. The
inclusive definition takes the base to be the social relations of
production together with the productive forces, that is the productive
resources of society in an inclusive sense covering not only means of
production but the ideas, skills interactions and organization employed by
producers when they produce.
Lisa's "patterns of resource characteristics" cover part of the productive
forces of a society, natural resources and their distribution.
Marx speaks of a "mode of production" as a way in which direct producers
and means of production are combined so as to make possible production of a
surplus. For example, the capitalist "mode of production" is as follows: a
capitalist buys means of production and hires workers for a wage, setting
them to work on the means of production under the capitalist's management,
to produce commodities which can be sold for a profit.
A "foraging society" would usually involve a "mode of production" termed
"primative communism", where the direct producers are tribally organized to
gather goods from tribal land which may be allocated or exchanged as gifts.
What is of interest in "foraging societies" would be the degree to which
individuals are allocated tasks by birth,  and the degree to which goods
are traditionally allocated or are allocated through gift exchange. Control
over the labour of direct producers for the benefit of a wealthy or
powerful subgroup is usually only incipient in foraging societies, so these
are very different set-ups from capitalism. I think it would not be useful
to study foraging societies with likenesses to capitalism in mind.
IH




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