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

["Lüko Willms" <lueko.willms@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:37:01 -0500, Joaquin Bustelo wrote:

> I think that before presenting socialism as the only answer to raising the
> standard of living so high that even people among highly privileged
> compulsive-consumption populations will want to reproduce at 
> a high enough rate to maintain their numbers stable or growing, 

  I don't see why it should be necessary to keep the society growing. Why 
not returning to a more stable size of population as has probably existed in 
the early beginnings of mankind. 

  Increased productivity allows a larger part of the population withdrawing 
from a larger role in material production. Increasing free time for _all_ can 
also mean that we have more time over our life span for youthful growing 
and learning and more rest in the old age. 

> We can discuss tactics, strikes, economic demands, and all sorts of other
> things PROVIDED that we are clear in our heads that the strategic task of
> socialism in creating new human beings will not be to fulfill the
> consumerist cravings of the proletariat of the imperialist countries, but to
> cure them of that addiction.

   Recently I have learned about the concept of "flow" developed by a certain 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, as a form of utmost happyness or satisfaction, and 
how that is achieved in _activity,_ and the most in _productive_ activity, and 
in idling on the sofa. This made me also think of Karl Marx' remarks about 
e.g. composing music can be work, and very intense work, too. "Flow" occurs 
when the person is in tune with his work, with his activity, can identify with 
it 
and is in sort of a balance between challenge and ability, als in tune with his 
or her surroundings, both human and other. 

  Here is an interview in which he explains some of his views (don't worry 
about the idealist wrappers put mainly by the magazine doing the interview):

> <http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j21/csiksz.asp?page=1>

  So that lets us view a glimpse of how our descendants might enjoy their 
lives in a much higher and more intense way that most of humans today, and 
this not based on a high level of consumption, but on a high level of 
un-alienated work and activity. 


Comradely yours, 
Lüko Willms
Frankfurt, Germany
--------------------------------
visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in 
German

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