Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 17:53:59 -0500
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: M-I: currencies, economic crisis and crisis theory


Rakesh Bhandari wrote:

>In an attempt to preserve dependency theory and perhaps monopoly capital
>stagnation theory, Jim B attempts to discount the importance of the Asian
>boom. Now since 40% of the world reservers are held by Asian governments
>(most of it in the form of US treasuries), this does speak to a boom as
>Doug underlines.  But neither Doug nor Jim delve into the relationship of
>say Taiwan and South Korea to Japan to which the former two countries have
>ususally run a current accounts deficit; also one can ask how much one unit
>of exports from the tigers increased imports from Japan and how much value
>was transferred to Japan in the process.  So dependency theory or the
>centrality of the imperialist division of labor may not be totally
>disproven by rapid growth in the tigers; yet this growth also included
>diversification and structural change which at times put the tigers in
>competition with Japanese industries.

Which is to say the East Asian boom is full of contradictions - partly
dependent, partly anti-dependent.

> It should be clear that Doug must defend the Asian boom because it is his
>most important evidence for his thesis of the destructive effects of bond
>markets.

No, I'm defending the East Asian boom in part because, as I said, it is
living refutation of Anglo-American development wisdom, and because it
shows the efficacy of state planning. Like I said the first time around,
Marx looked to the English joint-stock company as a partial foretaste of
socialism; I'm looking to East Asia in the same spirit.

>The Anglo-Americanisation of the financial
>structure is not simply an ideological-political victory of Wall Street
>players but finds its real motivating force in the global overaccumulation
>of capital, in the relations of surplus value production. But Doug will not
>develop such an explanation because he is trying to bury Marxian concepts.

I really don't see much point carrying this on. Levy has the excuses of
being demented and not very bright, but these don't apply to you, so I
don't know where this is coming from. I almost said "fuck you" to this last
comment of yours, but it really makes me sad, not angry, to see you saying
things about me that aren't true.

Doug




     --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---