Re: Re: Re: Question for the Lefties -- II

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Devine wrote:

> Colin writes:
> >1. Marx had a great many ideas about Capitalism and social science in
> >general, and much can be used even if you don't buy the notion that
> >capitalism blows up of its own accord (I don't).
>
> nor did Marx.

I agree with this substantially, but there are a couple complexities that
I think need to be noted. Marx did say that capitalism breeds its own
gravediggers -- what he did *not* say was that there was any
super-historical (and mystical) element in the universe that guaranteed
that those gravediggers would be successful.

The second complication: I think Marx's analysis of capitalism *does*
imply that capitalism periodically self-destructs -- and I think the
history
of the last 150 years bears that out empirically. It has self-destructed
at least twice, but not being buried has an equal power to reconstitute
itself. I would expect repeated self-destructions, and unless buried by
successful revolution, repated rebirths. (A final descent into
barbarianism,
energy, clean air, and water being exhausted along with both the
contending classes is also of course a real possibility.)

Carrol