Date: 28 Aug 96 02:47:37 EDT
Subject: Re: More on Mullen


Good, we got a basic difference. Let's see if we can go into some detail. This
is the revolutionary socialist writing : Here is a little dialogue. (If you will
excuse my assuming the Stateto be just for this dialogue, fully self aware.

Q: Good Morning Mr. State, and welcome to the show;
A: Thank you.
Q: First of all I wonder if you could explain for our listeners, what in a
nutshell your job is ?
A: Certainly, certainly. It has a lot of aspects, but it's basically to make
sure the general ball game keeps going, I mean to make sure not only that my
national capitalists accumulate and accumulate fast, but to think ahead and
guarantee the general conditions for this accumulation ballgame to keep going.
Q: And how do you go about that ?
A: Well, if it comes down to it, I do have an army, a police force, courts and
prisons and so on to repress anyone who gets in the way of accumulation. That
might be workers on strike, or opressed groups trying to undo all the careful
work me and my friends the capitalist have done through the centuries dividing
the exploited among each other. You know : gay liberationists, antiracists and
all that, sometimes they need to be physically reminded who's boss.
I'll also use violence against criminal elements :usually if they're workers
who have been pushed too far or anybody screwed up by the extremely limited
kinds of social interaction which are allowed under capitalism.
But on a normal day, I prefer to usemore gentle means. I call it legitimizing.
So I make sure I own some of the TV stations, radio stations and so on, to give
people a smoothed out view of the world, give them the impression that the
present system is the only one that could work,that it represents human nature
and so on. I don't control everything that's said ; legitimacy includes giving
people the impression they're partly free, but I set theterms of the debate,
andin hard times like wars, then I will control everything. 
Education and culture are also my responsibility. You see the capitalists aren't
very many, so they have to be belived in. This means me putting myself  forward
as representing humanity in general. So I also do a lot of useful things :
directing traffic, improving health care in boom time,  subsidizing arts
festivals, astronomy, scientific research. Some of this is to make profit, or
make sure we have healthy and literate workers,  but some is just to impress
people and make them glad we're here.

Q: Do you do any accumulating yourself ?
A: Oh yes, oh yes. I normally take over basic industries : we call it
nationalization, so that the secondary industries which depend on them can make
profit. You see, all industries would work better if there wasn't the
competitive market system, but things like water, electricity and so on get more
spectacularly screwed up by competition, so I often take those over,at least in
boom time. Mind you, some of my friends in the past have taken this process much
further. Whole countries managed to nationalize the entire industry of the
country and run it all as a state monopoly for decades.You see, the private
capitalists werevery weak, so extreme centralization was the only way to stay
competitive. They had a real good line in legitimization too : they called their
capitalism "communism" : worked wonders.

Q: Yes, I see; what other jobs do you do ? 
A: Well competition is such a ridiculous way to produce large amounts of goods,
and the capitalists are always squabbling among themselves. So I act as a sort
of referee between them : you know, antiStrust laws, commercial law codes,
guaranteeing the currency, labour laws, advertising standards, that sort of
thing. Makes sure the whole ballgame keeps running more or less smoothly.

Q: And would you describe yourself as predatory ?
A: Oh yes. Mostly in subordination to big capital though. 

Q: And yet your personnel is elected isn't it ?
A: Are you kidding ? Non, no. The most important elements aren't , at least in
most countries. Judges, generals, police chiefs,heads of nationalized
industries, heads of education and television, top people in univeristies. Don't
elect them when I can avoid it. They're just the smae people who manage private
companies. There's a tremendous amount of coming and going between top civil
servants and the managing directors of the major trusts, oh yes. 


Q: well thank you very much, Mr State. And we'll be back after the break for
adverts.



EVEN FOR THE MOST DREADFUL OF BOURGEOIS STAINS, TROTSKY RECOMMENDS "PROLO"


John Mullen
SI France



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