File spoon-archives/marxism2.archive/marxism2_1996/96-06-08.010, message 165


Date: Mon, 3 Jun 96 11:59:33 GMT
From: Adam Rose <adam-AT-pmel.com>
Subject: Re: Rosa Luxemburg


> 
> I have recently acquired a book called _Comrade and Lover: Rosa 
> Luxemburg's letters to Leo Jogiches_  trans and ed by Elzbieta 
> Ettinger from Polish to English, 1979 MIT:Mass
> 
> As I recall, it was the recognition of the huge and 
> increasing consumptive role of the permanent military, forming a 
> "market" for goods that was entirely under the control of the ruling 
> class which controlled production, i.e. it was a huge profit-maker 
> entirely free of the risks of the market place.  
> 
> Demand could be counted on and even raised at will.  A planned economy, 
> in a sense.  Developments since then only increased the importance of 
> this segment of the economy as a proportion of the total, and Hunt 
> credits her for seeing that clearly while it was still small at the turn 
> of the century.
> 
> Lisa
> 

This is not what I understand she argued, though my understanding comes at
least 3rd hand.

She presented an argument about Imperialism expanding the market for
capitalist goods, and the consequent effect this had on relieving the
tendency to crisis. I cannot believe her theories were a kind of early
Keynesianism. I'm sure she'd have argued that once the world was more
or less carved up, the ability of capitalism to solve its crises became
increasingly limited - but I don't know for certain.

I believe she tended to look at the mismatch between Departments I and
II ( I - producing the means of consumption; II - producing the means
of production ) rather than the rate of profit ie Capital I + II rather
than Capital III. Also, there's something deep about the about of labour
represented by any particular commodity, which no one has ever succcesfully
explained to me.

The stuff about the permanent arms economy is, I'm proud to say, quite
distinctive to the International Socialist tendency ! :-).

Adam.



Adam Rose
SWP
Manchester
UK


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