Re: [Marxism] Alexander

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ren wrote:
>
> Wrong.
>
> I'm making an argument about history that is based
> upon history.
>
> Are there no historical examples of imperialism
> without capitalism as the mode of production?

Scholars have argued over whether or not Plato really believed that for
every word in the language there was one _real_ form or idea that that
word _really_ named. Sometimes in reading his dialogues it certainly
seems like that.

You must believe something similar. There is one word, "Imperialism," so
everything the word is used to refer to must be an example of that one
"real" and eternal "Imperialism."  Nonsense.

Incidentally, the word "history" itself names a number of things that
are really quite different. Hence two people can "make an argument from
history" and yet be talking about totally different things.

For a marxist meaning of "history," the most illumination is offered,
perhaps, by one sentence from the _Grundrisse_, "The anatomy of man is a
key to the anatomy of the ape." He did NOT say ""The anatomy of the ape
is a key to the anatomy of man." Many species other than us _might_ have
evolved from the ape: that's why the ape doesn't cast a lot of light on
us.

Roughly, an understanding of u.s. imperialism _MIGHT_ (not certainly)
help understand the anatomy of Alexander's imperialism -- but it is
almost certain that we can learn nothing but stale tautologies about
modern imperialism by studying Alexander.

Another example: Studying the DP of the last 40 years can help us
understand the DP of Roosevelt & Murray; but studying the DP of
Roosevelt and Murray probably doesn't throw much light on the current
DP. It is true but trivial that the present DP evolved from the earlier
one: trivial because (depending on the contingency of history) half a
dozen DPs wildly different from either Roosevelt's or Kerry's could have
developed from that earlier one.

Carrol


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