File spoon-archives/marxism2.archive/marxism2_1996/96-09-20.183, message 63


Date: Sat, 14 Sep 1996 00:11:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Justin Schwartz <jschwart-AT-freenet.columbus.oh.us>
Subject: Re: The state (hierarchy)



Tom's question is good, but there's good answer. Firstly, hiearchy doesn't
have to mean that those in authoroty are better or more worthy than
others. What it means is that they have authority, that they are delegated
the power to make and implement decisions. This related to specialization
as follows. First, If we need specialization because everyone can't know
everything, because there is real expertise that requires years of
training and experience to acquire, then who have it must be authorized to
use it--obviously not without constraint. The obvious example is with
medical expertise--doctors and nurses--but it also applies in a wide
varierty of areas. Engineers have be given authority to decide how to
buld bridges and computer sysstems, teachers to teach, and so forth.

Of course this doesn't go to show thatsome group of philosopher kings or
omniscient bureaucrats is specially qualified to make decisions about
basic priorities. That's not an area in which there exists special
expertise. That's the province of democratic politics. But here a
different basis for specialization and hierarcht arises. It turns on the
fact not that some people know things others don't, but on the fact that
there are only so many hours in the day and only so much that anyone can
be interested in. 

Here the point is that on lots of stuff of basic interest on which no one
is per se more qualified to deal with matters than anyone else, only a few
people will be interested in using their (roughly equal) talents to think
things through or will have the time to do so. In my community, as in
yours, someopne has to work out not only the details of the budget but its
basic structure, to develop more or less coherent plans embodying
conflicting sets of priorities. Some people are interrested in those sorts
of things: they will run for office or volunteer for communities. Of
those who have these interests, they will have to work on some things
rather than others. The people who do these things--representatives and
their delegates--have to have authority to do them and the power to carry
out their decisions once they are made. This means hieararchy. 

The only way to get around the need for representative democracy and its
hierarchy--the secons sort-- is to live in tiny communities at a level
close enough to subsistence that there are opportunities for infrequent
town meetings to decide on the few matters of public interrest. The only
way to get rid of the need for hierarchy based oin specialization--the
first sort--is to abandon any sort of technology or social needs (like
medicine, engineering, and indeed teaching) that requires specialized
knowledge. I take it that no socialist would advocate either sort of thing
because both are incompatble with socialism.

--Justin

On Thu, 12 Sep 1996, Tom Condit wrote:

> In the course of this discussion, Justin Scwartz made several
> assertions with which I disagree, but one in particular caught my
> eye:
> 
> "... specialization (necessary for the development of expertise)
> requires hierarchy."
> 
> Why?
> 
> It's my bedtime and I have a full plate tomorrow, but I frankly
> don't see why there has to be a "hierarchy" between workers of
> various kinds in order to have specialization. Are plumbers better
> than pipefitters who are better than computer programmers? Must the
> plumber be able to command the computer programmer in order for
> pipe to be at the worksite on time? Must the computer programmer be
> able to command the plumber so that his system doesn't short out
> because of water running all over the floor? Does one of them need
> higher pay than the other to do her job?
> 
> This assertion doesn't make any sense -- or, rather, it makes sense
> only for those who see political decision-making as a necessary
> "specialization" in society.
> 
> Tom Condit
> 
> 
> 
>      --- from list marxism2-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---





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