File spoon-archives/phillitcrit.archive/phillitcrit_2000/phillitcrit.0007, message 49


From: Boris.Vidovic-AT-sea.fi
Subject: VS: VS: PLC: Marxist Propaganda
Date:   Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:30:58 +0300


The things after communism have gone from bad to worse, of course. In
all the ex-communist coutries people have been returned there where
their development has stopped: primitive capitalism, grabing of money,
resources etc. That's what 'normal' capitalist world has gone through at
least 100 years ago.

In the last decades of communism there was a popular saying "the system
is good but it doesn't work". What kind of system it is that is
supposedly good but doesn't work!? That's just bull. Yes, I agree that
there has to be some kind of marriage between theory and praxis. The
problem is/was that in communist countries there has been all praxis and
no theory, and in the West Marxism has its place in the academy but not
much can be seen in the 'real life'. I know that Marx and Engels knew
that capitalism is changing as well, but the communist governments
didn't knew that Marx had known it. So I don't care whether Sweden (at
least in the 70's and 80's) deserves to be called a socialist country,
capitalist country or whatever. The main issue is that it worked, people
had freedom, social institutions worked, welfare state was at its best.
Coming from where I'm coming I don't care about the labels.

Yes, Howard, capitalism as described and analysed by Marx has been
'delegated' to the Third World and ex-communist countries. So globally
his analyses still seem to be valid. But, to put it crudely as Marx and
his teacher Hegel certainly would, these countries are on the lower
historical level. We have seen so many times that capitalism always
finds some way to renew itself. Why socialism/communism cannot find some
mode of renewal? That is the real issue.

Boris Vidovic


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