Date: 20 Mar 97 03:32:59 EST
Subject: M-G: albania & state capitalism


dear friends,

i think Dave is promoting a big red herring with
his defense of  institutionalized  waged labor/capital 
relations in the state-capitalist  countries.

The state cap  countries, exUSSR , etc. in some industries 
 indeed  actually did forego short term profits for strategic
 long term profit  maximization. Japan did this too and no one says 
it is anything but a capitalist country certainly
with the law of value operative to a fare-the-well.
Using the Cliffites as straw men to attack on this
will not disprove the correctness of the exposure
of state cap rule..

But this being a given, there are capitalist laws 
that do work  universally in the world capitalist
order, privatized caps or  state caps that the RATE
of surplus value robbed from workers in 
alienated wage labor-capital relations  MUST
be sufficient  to achieve a necessary rate of
capital accumuation over the economy.

State cap systems 'planning' takes into account
the pressures of the total capitalist system on
it--the competing capitals on a world scale
and their own "controlled" competing  markets..
The state cap 'planners' have to face their 
robbers  music just as western corporations/states
do inside the overall market. That the state
caps could not cut the faster pace of 
competition helped to hasten their demise-
or better (for many of  them) becoming 'goot beeeznezmen"
today in  as priv caps in Russia, etc.

There is a close  realtion to the state caps
and priv caps methods of pricing too!
In the west most pricing is detremined in the 
market , while prices by exUSSR state caps 
were detrmined by the planners boards.
But the USSR 'planners" had NO carte
blanche". If  the state caps were to gain
sufficent surplus value, they followed the 
method  of  pricing which takes into account
the law of value.
Of course NOT all of their pricing did this--
if they rigged up too many 'low "
prices to sell , very ,  necessary surplus value is lost.
Lack of capital investment /technology would 
result
The planners did not want this to happen  as the 
the state cap economy would hemorrage as
then the ruling class political hegemony 
would/did also give way.

Dave's defense of the failed state cap system/blocs
especially today, objectively  can only help the  capitalists
propaganda ideologically  bludgeon the workers
into thinking the state capitalist regimes had 
something in common with workers rule
and marxism.  
This  stuff can only help those who want  to 
see workers scared away from taking interest
in marxism.

The new workers struggles/movements  will have to 
abandon old disproved  unscientific baggage
to advance.

Neil
for the communist left





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