File spoon-archives/marxism-thaxis.archive/marxism-thaxis_1998/marxism-thaxis.9802, message 291


Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 23:55:00 +0000
From: James Heartfield <James-AT-heartfield.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Rev Thomas Malthus returns


In message <Pine.GSO.3.95L.980213175035.1527A-
100000-AT-ciao.cc.columbia.edu>, Louis N Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu> writes
>No, historical materialism does not propose the liberation of "all
>mankind". It proposes that the working-class rule over society. Lenin was
>quite forceful in calling for the suppression of the bourgeoisie. 

Surreal. The goal of communism is - the persistence of wage slavery
without the bourgeoisie! Did it ever occur to you that the goal of
communism was the abolition not just of the bourgeoisie but also of the
proletariat? Lenin was 'quite forceful' about many things, including the
forcible repression of the peasantry in the period of war communism -
but his goal was not the persistence of the dictatorship of the
proletariat in perpetuity, but rather the withering away of the state as
the class division of society is dismantled. Its extraordinary that you
should wish to maintain the class division of society into eternity,
showing a greater loyalty to it than even the ruling classes.

>important fish species such as cod and salmon are rapidly disappearing

We have a saying in England 'what's that got to do with the price of
fish?'. It is supposed to illustrate the narrow-mindedness that cannot
go beyond the most banal observations of everyday life. If you really
want to worry about the possible disppearance of cod then please waste
your time. It is patently clear that you have no intention of ever doing
anything about the danger to the sea bass - its just a debating point to
inject your dull posts with some hystrionic melodrama. 

Tell, me in all seriousness, in the next ten months, what actions do you
propose people take to save the salmon. Really, I want to know. Are you
going to write to your congressman, lobby the House, take direct action
against fishing boats, strike out the ports? I mean really, is this
something that motivates you enough to hand round one petition sheet?
Where are the headquarters of the Save the Cod campaign? Do you even
know?

Another English expression: Codswallop.

>Marxists say that famine is a result
>of economic inequality but what do they know.

And just a moment ago you were saying that it was a result of natural
shortages. What do Marxists know? More than you ever will.


> Libertarians like Heartfield
>believe that capitalism can feed everybody.

Why don't you just imagine an opponent to argue with.
>> 
>> As Marx explained at length, the barrier to capital accumulation is
>> capital itself, not any natural shortages of oil, or food, or anything
>> else. Anyone who seriously thinks that capitalism is too productive and
>> needs to be made less so, should come clean and argue just who it is
>> that they think should be exterminated to reduce the demands upon these
>> 'limited' resources.
>
>Capital accumulation has been taking place very nicely for the past 25
>years since the birth of modern ecology. The American stock market is a
>pretty good barometer of this process.
>
How very foolish of Marx, then, to say that Capital itself is the
barrier to capital accumulation. But then perhaps he understood that
speculative inflation of stock prices is not the same thing as the
accumulation of capital.
-- 
James Heartfield


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