File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/97-01-14.221, message 44


Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 10:21:52 -0500
From: dhenwood-AT-panix.com (Doug Henwood)
Subject: M-I: welfare states


At 1:35 PM 1/14/97, Robert Malecki wrote:

>My understanding of the polish events and why I could go out on the first of
>May with a leaflett where on one side we were calling for a general strike
>here in Sweden and on the other side defending the line on Poland was in
>fact a vital propaganda message to the working class who was beginning to
>mobilise against the then bougeois offensive on the Swedish "welfare state".

I'm always mystified by this sort of thing. On the one hand, orthodox
Marxists generally regard welfare state measures as small beer, and in some
cases, harmful (through co-optation) to the class struggle. On the other
hand, though, most orthodox Marxists, like Malecki here, are quick to
defend the welfare state against attacks on it.

My own line is that, however tepid, welfare state measures reduce work
discipline and temper the rule of money, and must be counted as a good
thing. That's why capitalists hate welfare states, and only grant such
concessions under duress (like the threat of something far worse). Does
this make me a hopeless Menshevik?

Doug

--

Doug Henwood
Left Business Observer
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email: <dhenwood-AT-panix.com>
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