[Marxism] Did Keynesianism save Japan? Will it save the US?

[abu hartal <abuhartal@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

There may be some Marxists who think the Keynesian bailout machinery can 
prevent a societyfrom collapsing into Depression and allow it to ride out a 
downturn in relative material prosperity.Only if it were so. The example of 
Japan does not prove that. I have written to Comrade Henwood:1. the bailout 
machinery has not worked as you have always told us that it would2. You have 
overestimated the significance of fiscal and monetarypolicy in preventing a 
collapse. In the land of Karoshi where contract law has beencircumscribed for 
the sake of new forms of slavery, overwork and new forms of exploitationhave 
been the more important cause. And still the Japanese economy may well 
collapse. 3. Japan is already in a serious crisis of social reproduction. 
Overworkedand underpaid vis a vis the real value of labor power (i.e. the money 
wages neededto reproduce the working class), the new working poor are seeing 
their birth rates at well belowreplacement. You may think that most of the 
world envies the material prosperity of this society.  It is however in serious 
crisis from the pointof social re-production (on the importance of reproduction 
to Marx's thought see John Torrance), and your beloved Keynesianism has not 
fixed it. You are not a Marxist in so far as Marxist concepts and ideas 
(increased rate of exploitation,wages falling below the value of labor power, 
and the limits of state policy vis a vis the contradictions of capitalism; also 
you ignore the roleof the export of capital in displacing Japan's economic 
problems as Bond has reminded you, the importance of that being greater than 
yourKeynesian remedies) play no role in what you have to say.That's fine. God 
knows that we don't need everyone to be a Marxist.

_________________________________________________________________
Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. 
It's easy!
http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us
________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: 
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40archives.econ.utah.edu