Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 10:17:17 -0700
From: Paul Brians <brians-AT-mail.wsu.edu>
Subject: Re: Liam's query of me


Liam, I'm writing a book right now on a totally related topic and 
don't have time to engage in lengthy debates over capitalism vs. 
socialism. For more on my views on Marxism, see 
<http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/misconceptions.html >.

Obviously we disagree over whether capitalism is inherently harmful 
and cannot be controlled or ameliorated and must be replaced. This 
isn't something that can be proved by argumentation--though history 
suggests some answers. For what it's worth, I enjoy being a member of 
a food coop, keeping my money in a credit union, and getting my 
insurance from a nonprofit mutual company, and I wish there was more 
of this sort of thing. But it's also obvious to me that capitalism 
can be a mighty engine to lift people and nations out of poverty, 
though it does so in highly uneven ways, and often fails. But it 
succeeds often enough that it's being embraced as a goal worldwide 
just as attacks on it have declined drastically in 
popularity--despite the anti-world trade movement.

Social measures have to be taken to reign in capitalism's worst 
abuses--I'm all for regulation. But to me, sweeping denunciations of 
the whole system or of international trade are futile and a diversion 
of time and energy that could be more fruitfully applied in nudging 
the big, successful economic players in more humane directions. They 
aren't about to topple.

I don't propose to debate this further here for the time being. I'm 
perfectly aware that my views don't match the dominant postcolonial 
ideological penchants. I just wanted Salil to know that he wasn't 
alone.




-- 
Paul Brians, Department of English
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-5020
brians-AT-wsu.edu
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians


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