[OPE-L:4701] Re: Re: Re: SV and the F of D

From: Gil Skillman (gskillman@MAIL.WESLEYAN.EDU)
Date: Thu Dec 14 2000 - 18:16:09 EST


Rakesh writes:

>Consider Marx's nemesis Bakunin:
>
>"I know that in speaking out of my intimate thoughts on teh Jews with 
>such frankness. I expose myself to immense dangers. Many people share 
>these thoughts, but very few dar to express them in publicly, for the 
>Jewish sect, which is much more formidable than that of the Catholics 
>and the Protestant-Jesuits, today constitutes a veritable power in 
>Europe. It reigns despotically in COMMERCE and BANKING, and it has 
>invaded three quarters of German journalism and a very considerable 
>part of the journalism of other countries. Then woe to him who makes 
>the mistake of displeasing him." (my emphasis)
>
>qu Hal Draper, KMTR, vol 4, p. 293. The quote seems to be from 1869.
>
>
>>
>>He believes that if he first explains the origins of *surplus* value 
>>in the circuit of industrial capital (which will lead him to clarify 
>>that workers alienate labor power not labor time in exchange with 
>>industrial capitalists), he will then be able to show that 
>>merchants' capital and interest bearing capital are now derived from 
>>that surplus value or newly produced value in the circuit of 
>>industrial capital--not simply creamed from an unchanged sum of 
>>value in circulation.  That is, he clearly tells us that he intends 
>>to demonstrate that  the latter two forms of capital though 
>>historically primary are nonetheless now only  derivative forms of 
>>capital (this should be enough to do away with interpretations of 
>>Marx's Capital as a history of the forms of capital).  Given that 
>>the latter two have been falsely associated with  "Jews", Marx made 
>>perhaps the greatest theoretical blow ever  to the socialism of 
>>fools by demonstrating upon completion of his 3 volume analysis that 
>>these forms of capital are of secondary importance in the 
>>exploitation of the workers. The roots of exploitation are not in 
>>commerical cheating and bloody usury.
>>
>>It seems to me that there is a straight line from incomprehension of 
>>Marx's analysis of the derivativeness of interest-bearing and 
>>merchant forms of capital to the revival of anti semitisms which led 
>>to the Holocaust.


This non sequitur misconceives what I am saying so utterly, so
comprehensively, and in so monstrously a prejudicial fashion, that I don't
know where to begin an answer. But the sense of the argument above is
plain:  dare to suggest that even a portion of Marx's argument is logically
suspect, and you are engaged in the sort of thinking that leads to the
Holocaust.  Comments like this are hardly conducive to the open discussion
that I thought this list was about.  Please disavow these remarks, Rakesh,
or there is no point in continuing this exchange. 

In consternation,

Gil Skillman



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