[PEN-L:11498] Re: Home Mortgage Deduction

["William S. Lear" <rael@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, July 29, 1997 at 10:00:33 (-0700) Max B. Sawicky writes:
>Do we want the working class to accumulate wealth held
>individually (e.g., homes, stock, bonds, etc.), or must all
>wealth beyond personal items be held socially?  I would
>say the latter is the correct socialist view but not the correct
>view.

What is your criteria for correctness?

I assume you include productive property in the class of items beyond
the personal.  If so, and if you think that it is "incorrect" that
this be held socially, how do you square that view with the historical
fact that productive property was originally stolen from workers
through enclosures and other means backed by state violence, and is
now maintained in the hands of the few by threat or outright violence?

Do you distinguish between family owned and operated enterprises and
those which employ labor outside the family, including huge (multi-)
national firms?

Also, what about the fact that workers must surrender basic human
rights, including the right to self-determination, upon entrance to
privately-held firms because (productive) propertyless workers have no
choice but to rent themselves to those who own productive capital?


Bill