Capitalism vs. Socialism is a false dichotomy, of course. And Marx did not despise capitalism, he was in awe of it; though obviously he did not worship it, rather seeing it as a passing epoch, with good reason. Too bad he can't speak on our current moment. But, if he could, he'd perhaps get into the weeds of our monetary system -- the byzantine, obscure yet all powerful global "Eurodollar" system.
Is it truly "capitalism", when today money -- the symbol or measuring stick of capital -- is ultimately constrained only by the decisions of a tiny number of bureaucrats serving central bank owners? Is it really a coincidence that the de facto world monetary system has since become increasingly arbitrary and centralized, at about the same rate as the productivity gains delivered by the proletariat have been expropriated by those very same few oligarchs at the levers of the legacy monetary system?
The fiat monetary system is not some independent force of nature and any true radicalism must reckon with it. Just as Marx toiled in the British archives to find capitalism's "dirty secret", it's time for 21st century Marxists to do a deep dive on the mechanics and philosophy of money, as an inherently political technology. Down this path, many bourgeois economic dogmas are exposed as such. Along the way, much misinformation and politically charged nonsense "critiques" stand as barriers to understanding. But it's worth the effort, because there may be a real solution now, if only enough of us can realize the benefits of it. If things are indeed so bad that we should be open to crazy ideas like "socialist revolution or extinction", please consider this one: Marx today would almost certainly be a Bitcoiner.
Paul Street, have you ever heard of the Party for Socialism and Liberation? If you have, what is your opinion of this party? If you have not, you might look into learning about it, or the ANSWER Coalition for that matter.
Do you believe the Marxist/Socialist left in the US is too divided, and that we might actually achieve greater success if our organizations, and parties put aside our ideological differences, MLMs vs Trotskyists and the like, and built bigger coalitions? Do you believe this could ever happen, or would it take a more competent fascist seizing power before it ever did?
There is not much I can argue against in Paul’s article, as much as I would like to. After all, who wants to live to see our planet on fire. The window may have already closed. For years I have been convinced that scientists were being misleadingly-cautious in their climate forecasts (and continue to be). When I say the window may be closed, I extend it two ways: First, obviously, is to earth’s ‘Goldilock’s’ climate. Second, I believe that the window has closed on capitalism. Obviously, the ministers of wealth and greed will continue their disgusting ways until they give up the ghost, or destroy our planet and flee on their super yachts or space craft. (Where to is a great question.) Or are forced out. “Forced out,” you may ask? The glimmer of redemption for me is that we may have just enough time to restore enough democracy to allow the citizenry to participate on a replacement economic apparatus. A healing vision that provides us with ecological, social, and health benefits. (A short sampling.) An economic system that is in service to its citizens. And a system which should never be measured on a damned monetary scale. For this to happen we need to take it to the streets...
And who are the capitalists but white people. White men. And what is the biggest contribution to overpopulation? Religion. And what is now being done to women who want to control the number of children they have? White men and "religious leaders" are refusing to let them have safe abortions. Capitaism requires workers not educated women.
I'm kinda sympathetic to what you say, of course but I'll that I add am a white man who has been damn near killed doing proletarian work in three different industrial plants and in one bus company owned by much, much richer and more powerful white men known as capitalists. I am also a leading member of Rise Up for Abortion Rights' Chicago chapter and was in DC helping lead direct anti-patriarchy and anti-fascist protest actions before and after the Dobbs decision. So I'd suggest some grey areas between total black and white all or nothing gender identitarianism...maybe?
The single dominant topic is clear as day: capitalism is killing life on Earth and we will not escape ecocide under capitalism. Many, many sources hyper-linked. As I'm sure you know, this (online writing and Sunbstack) is not academia. You want to see literally hundreds of endnotes typed up in accord with the University of Chicago stye manual, you gotta go see my books at Paradigm, Rowman-Littllefield, and Routledge. Editing and annotating on the scale required for academic publication does not fit with a writing schedule of two essays per week. Now, that schedule may be proving unsustainable, however.
Does Musk have on opening at Mar's city.
Amen. A Las Barricadas!
I definitely like the term you use, “ historical-material reality” to describe the technosphere created in the Capitalocene!
Capitalism vs. Socialism is a false dichotomy, of course. And Marx did not despise capitalism, he was in awe of it; though obviously he did not worship it, rather seeing it as a passing epoch, with good reason. Too bad he can't speak on our current moment. But, if he could, he'd perhaps get into the weeds of our monetary system -- the byzantine, obscure yet all powerful global "Eurodollar" system.
Is it truly "capitalism", when today money -- the symbol or measuring stick of capital -- is ultimately constrained only by the decisions of a tiny number of bureaucrats serving central bank owners? Is it really a coincidence that the de facto world monetary system has since become increasingly arbitrary and centralized, at about the same rate as the productivity gains delivered by the proletariat have been expropriated by those very same few oligarchs at the levers of the legacy monetary system?
The fiat monetary system is not some independent force of nature and any true radicalism must reckon with it. Just as Marx toiled in the British archives to find capitalism's "dirty secret", it's time for 21st century Marxists to do a deep dive on the mechanics and philosophy of money, as an inherently political technology. Down this path, many bourgeois economic dogmas are exposed as such. Along the way, much misinformation and politically charged nonsense "critiques" stand as barriers to understanding. But it's worth the effort, because there may be a real solution now, if only enough of us can realize the benefits of it. If things are indeed so bad that we should be open to crazy ideas like "socialist revolution or extinction", please consider this one: Marx today would almost certainly be a Bitcoiner.
Paul Street, have you ever heard of the Party for Socialism and Liberation? If you have, what is your opinion of this party? If you have not, you might look into learning about it, or the ANSWER Coalition for that matter.
Do you believe the Marxist/Socialist left in the US is too divided, and that we might actually achieve greater success if our organizations, and parties put aside our ideological differences, MLMs vs Trotskyists and the like, and built bigger coalitions? Do you believe this could ever happen, or would it take a more competent fascist seizing power before it ever did?
There is not much I can argue against in Paul’s article, as much as I would like to. After all, who wants to live to see our planet on fire. The window may have already closed. For years I have been convinced that scientists were being misleadingly-cautious in their climate forecasts (and continue to be). When I say the window may be closed, I extend it two ways: First, obviously, is to earth’s ‘Goldilock’s’ climate. Second, I believe that the window has closed on capitalism. Obviously, the ministers of wealth and greed will continue their disgusting ways until they give up the ghost, or destroy our planet and flee on their super yachts or space craft. (Where to is a great question.) Or are forced out. “Forced out,” you may ask? The glimmer of redemption for me is that we may have just enough time to restore enough democracy to allow the citizenry to participate on a replacement economic apparatus. A healing vision that provides us with ecological, social, and health benefits. (A short sampling.) An economic system that is in service to its citizens. And a system which should never be measured on a damned monetary scale. For this to happen we need to take it to the streets...
And who are the capitalists but white people. White men. And what is the biggest contribution to overpopulation? Religion. And what is now being done to women who want to control the number of children they have? White men and "religious leaders" are refusing to let them have safe abortions. Capitaism requires workers not educated women.
I'm kinda sympathetic to what you say, of course but I'll that I add am a white man who has been damn near killed doing proletarian work in three different industrial plants and in one bus company owned by much, much richer and more powerful white men known as capitalists. I am also a leading member of Rise Up for Abortion Rights' Chicago chapter and was in DC helping lead direct anti-patriarchy and anti-fascist protest actions before and after the Dobbs decision. So I'd suggest some grey areas between total black and white all or nothing gender identitarianism...maybe?
The single dominant topic is clear as day: capitalism is killing life on Earth and we will not escape ecocide under capitalism. Many, many sources hyper-linked. As I'm sure you know, this (online writing and Sunbstack) is not academia. You want to see literally hundreds of endnotes typed up in accord with the University of Chicago stye manual, you gotta go see my books at Paradigm, Rowman-Littllefield, and Routledge. Editing and annotating on the scale required for academic publication does not fit with a writing schedule of two essays per week. Now, that schedule may be proving unsustainable, however.