[Marxism] The Fundamentals

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Published on The Smirking Chimp (http://www.smirkingchimp.com)
Fundamentals
By Stephen Fleischman
Created Apr 7 2008 - 9:12am

Let's get down to fundamentals.

The two warring Democratic candidates in the presidential election have 
their slogans.

Obama wants change. Hillary wants solutions. Yes, they discuss all the 
issues that are fit to discuss. Even McCain talks about death and taxes.

But nobody wants to take on the fundamentals--the source of the status 
quo requiring change and the root cause of the problems for which 
Hillary wants solutions. It's not just the economy, Stupid! It's the 
system...to use a Clintonian euphemism.

A system based on greed, profit and exploitation of one class by another 
will eventually land it in the ditch. You don't need Karl Marx to tell 
you that. He made a landmark analysis of Capitalism in the 19th Century 
and so far his predictions have been right on the money. Empires 
fall--from the Roman to the German. They dig their own graves.

Capitalism, by its name and nature supports the rich, propertied and 
corporate class. You don't have to be a rocket scientist or a Marxist to 
see that. Competition between corporate entities, in various nations, 
leads to monopoly and war. When corporations control a government, it's 
Corporatism. We're in that stage of capitalism right now. Benito 
Mussolini, pre-World War II dictator of Italy, gave it a name. He called 
it Fascism.

For the capitalist system to survive--it must have constant economic 
growth and find new markets and sources of raw materials.

There are two ways to do this, the first, by going into countries, 
anywhere in the world, and taking what you want by military means 
(commerce follows the flag, as the British used to say), or it can be 
done by diplomacy and economic penetration. The North American Free 
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an example of the second way, the war and 
occupation of Iraq, an example of the first. Of course, the natives of 
those countries don't like either method. So, one way or another, they 
fight back.

Right now, we're spilling blood for oil and heading into a recession at 
the same time. We have a new complication that ranks with global 
warming. Oil is peaking. Supplies can only diminish from here on. Are we 
going to fight for the last drop of oil on earth before putting maximum 
effort into looking for alternative forms of energy? Looks that way. Big 
oil still has clout.

Wealth produced by the working people of this country flows in only one 
direction, up. According to University of California statistics, the top 
1% of Americans own 33.4% of the wealth while the bottom 80%, the 
overwhelming majority of wage and salaried workers, are left with a 
measly 16%.

Do the presidential candidates discuss any of this, and if not, why not?

The answer to that is easy. They're all corporate candidates. The 
oligarchy can't lose, whoever is elected. The American mainstream media, 
that molds popular perception, supports one or another of the corporate 
candidates. And why not? The same corporate entities own the mainstream 
media. So keep the public distracted by endlessly debating the fine 
points of their choice, turning it into an entertaining horse race. The 
average Joe would do better going to the track.

The presidential candidates are fighting for the votes of "We the people..."
So why isn't it fair game to take on some of the faults and flaws of the 
capitalist system? Many of Obama's needs for change and Hillary's 
solutions to problems stem from capital's depredations. But no candidate 
dares to mention the "C" word.

It was not always thus. In the depth of the last depression, Roosevelt 
saved capitalism with the New Deal--the NRA, the WPA, the TVA and the 
rest of FDR's acronyms. Of course, the beginning of World War II helped. 
War frequently pulls capitalism's chestnuts out of the fire.

But, in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (the Wagner Act) was 
passed. This put government on the spot. It had to support the working 
class. Government supported unionization and collective bargaining that 
helped distribute the wealth more equitably. So, you see, workers rights 
can be protected even under capitalism. All it needs is a president and 
an administration to fight off the economic royalists.

If that doesn't happen, there can be trouble in River City. Times change 
and conditions have a way of turning into their opposite. Marx's 
historical materialism demonstrates that. There are nodal points in 
history, when quantitative changes leap to a qualitative change. 
Revolution is such a nodal point. All phenomena in the universe consist 
of "matter in motion"; all things are interdependent and interconnected.

We're headed into the great unknown right now. Most economists agree a 
recession looms. Some pessimists see a deeper recession, some a 
depression rivaling that of the 1930s.

There are all kinds of ideas out there lying dormant. If understood more 
universally, they could be helpful in advancing the welfare of this country.

Why don't our presidential candidates talk about them? Stand up to their 
corporate sponsors.
_______
SEFleischman
About author

Stephen Fleischman, writer-producer-director of documentaries, spent 
thirty years in Network News at CBS and ABC. His memoir is now in print. 
See www.Read2greatbooks.com [1], e-mail stevefl@xxxxxxxxx [2].

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