Re: [OPE-L] the long and the short of it

[Jerry Levy <Gerald_A_Levy@xxxxxxx>]

>  By the
> way, how do you know that "Well, if the subject is
> capitalism, then-- for instance -- money is an
> essential aspect of that subject"?

Ajit:

The central and essential importance of money to the
subject of  capitalism is evident from the fact that
products tend to be produced as commodities in that
mode of production.

> Does this essence
> of your subject dance around in the street or you have
> used some method of analysis to discover it?

Well, yes, to the extent that commodities and money are
necessarily linked, it can dance in the street.  No need
to "discover" its immediate importance -- every child  in
a capitalist society comes to understand on some level the
essential role of money.

If you don't have a theory which can say that money is
more essential to the character of capitalism than a
dog's fleas or a sparrow's chirp, then you don't have
any way of saying anything significant about the subject.

In solidarity, Jerry



> And if it
> is the latter, then what is that method that you used
> to find this essence out? Assertions are easy Jerry,
> but it does not take you too far.