From: "commie00" <commie00-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: AUT: Re: Re: national question.
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 11:18:04 -0400


> I think I would need much more explanation of this federalization,

federalization, as it was been practived in the u.s., mexico, canada,
switzerland, etc. has been an organizing form thru which local ruling
classes can unite as a single ruling class over a given area, while still
maintaining some soveriegn power over their area.

federalization, in the ruling class form, has basically been a way to
mediate disputes and contracts between various ruling classes in a
relatively peaceful mannor. this mediation, and the creation of unifying
bodies for mediation purposes, has been what gives us such creatures as the
"u.s. ruling class".

and here's a good place to note that within federalism there are two ideas:
pure federalism, charactarized by the u.s. and mexico, which, as a form, is
more centalized; and confederalism, characterized by canada and switzerland,
which is more decentralized.

that is: in the u.s. and mexico, the "federal governments" ultimately have
more power than the state governments; while in canada and switzerland the
"confederal governments", tho still having more power in genral than the
state / provincial governments, are not as centralized, leaving state /
provincial governments with more power than the states in the u.s. and
mexico have.

properly speaking, empire at this point is more properly chatagerized as a
confederation.

> See I don't think of imperialism as either a stage or a strategy, but as
an inherent aspect.

i think a lot of people see this because they confuse imperialism with the
need for capital to expand... however, what they don't see is that within
the history of capitalism, what are now national ruling classes have not
always been national ruling classes. that internal processes of either
imperialism or federalization have created these unified national ruling
classes.

that is: they ignore, or at least underestimate, the capacity of the ruling
class(es) to organize as a class against us.

the process of capital growth can take, as best as i can tell, 2 forms:
imperialism or federalization. imperialism being the wars between national
ruling classes, and federalization being the coordination and coopertion
between national / local ruling classes uniting them into a singular ruling
class.

and here is a good place, i think, to note that within federalization there
are processes that resemble imperialism, but aren't. they are the "police
actions" which attempt to bring "rogue elements" of the ruling class into
the fold. this is what the u.s. civil war was, and is what the wars in iraq,
eastern europe and now afganistan have been and are all about.



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