Michael Lebowitz wrote:
I was struck by the vigour with which the assembled Chinese Marxist
economists were discussing the law of value--- in particular, how to
demonstrate that utility yields value and the capitalist is a productive
worker.
Lou asked:
This is ironical, right?
--nope, jonathan is right, that is exactly what michael saw and heard.
I heard and saw the same time and again in the Marxist journals and conferences.
In fact, I sat in on a meeting of the editorial board of the now
defunct (I think?) magazine of the Marxist left in China (whose name now
escapes me, Jonathan?). The editors were responding exactly to the
argument within Chinese mainstream marxism that
captialists are now workers who produce value and therefore
belong in the Communist Party. The edition was being put out to refute this idea.
I brought up at the meeting a quote from Jesse Jackson during the American Airlines strike
that when the airline attendants went on strike in 94, the company fell apart almost immediately.
If the CEO and board had gone on strike, the company could have continued
functioning...now, who produces value?
steve