Rakesh Bhandari <rakeshb@stanford.edu> said, on 01/11/02: >Paul, you have obviously not read grossman's 1934 entry on Sismondi for >the Encylopaedia of the Social Sciences in a long time! A more >appreciative note to a man whom he credits as the founder of theories of >capitalist dynamics I cannot imagine. See, for a contrary reading, my citation of Rick Kuhn in my reply to Alejandro. >that grossman held his tongue for reasons of party discipline is indeed >possible and likely. but grossmann was by nature (it seems) a choleric >guy, and he does not spare lenin rapier like criticism in law of >accumulation and the breakdown (catastrophe) of the capitalist system >(1929). Grossmann was not impressed with Lenin's work as a piece of >theoretical reasoning, and he did not try to hide this from anyone. And I >think this says more about Grossman's scientific integrity than whether >he included Lenin's name in an obscure footnote. Grossman was not a party member (to the best of my knowledge) and was writing from New York in 1941. If Grossman did not like Lenin's economics then where is the public and/or published evidence, apart from a few remarks. Why did he move TOWARD Lenin on Sismondi between 1924 and 1934? Why did he move TOWARD Lenin on Luxemburg between 1924 and 1929. Why in 1941 did he NOT cite Lenin at all? Etc. Consider, also, simply the number of citations in the Banaji abridged edition of Grossman's "The Law of Accumulation and Breakdown of the Capitalism System*, 1929: Lenin, 5 (the only marginally critical one is on p. 122, "Lenin linked this tendency [to an inherent 'tendency to stagnation and decay'] to the growth of monopolies. That there is such a connection is indisputable, but a mere statement is not enough".) Luxemburg, 23 Hilferding, 13 Tugan, 12 By 1929, a Marxist discussing such questions should rank Lenin for attention near Hilferding and Tugan. No? > However, it seems obvious that Grossmann argued that Lenin was closer >to Marx's theory than Luxemburg and Sternberg were with their >underconsumptionism. If Grossman thought Lenin was close to Marx on these questions, then he is opposing Marx's discussion of overproduction in T.S.V., Vol. 2, pp. 492-535. Rosdolsky is penetrating on this, I think. Luxemburg was not an underconsumptionist. If you got this from Grossman/Mattick, what can I say. See Bleaney *Underconsumption Theories* for another reading. >Even as profound a critic of Lenin as Mattick Sr >grants that Lenin did more to preserve the revolutionary core of Marx's >critique of political economy than other 2nd Intl thinkers. This is the bottom line? Lenin is our man? >So it is possible that for party reasons Grossmann did >not always name Lenin when attacking positions that Lenin, along with >others, held. It would be interesting to get Rick Kuhn's views on this. >especially his comparative analysis of their respective ideas of the >party. What party reasons? He was not in a party in 1941 (to the best of my knowledge) and was in New York. >moreover, we would need to make a careful study of lenin's work to >determine whether he did not understand the differences between the >marxian and classical labor theory of value. Good, and if anyone on the list has done this or has pointers, it would be useful. >>In my opinion, Grossman is a tricky fellow and many times one has to pay as >>much attention to the silences as to the opinions (e.g., anti-Luxemburgism) >>to get a fuller understanding of what he is up to. >And do not forget that Grossmann praises Luxemburg for defending the >revolutionary core of marxism against revisionists. In a sense, his >greatest praise in his magnum opus is for her. Jerry Levy's posting is good, in this regard. It was simply de rigour to praise Luxemburg on the one hand. We have Lenin's 1922, published 1924, article to tell us (including Bukharin and Stalin) to do that. For me, it no longer has any effect until I read the substance of an analysis of her work. In your reply to him you say >and as i said, grossmann does not accept the bolshevik line in >theoretical matters. he did not share lenin's assessment that the bauer >scheme disproved rosa l's argument. But I believe Lenin's views on Bauer were not public in 1929, in any case. Therefore, this is no defense of Grossman vis-a-vis possible subservience to Lenin. You also say >Bauer may have indeed allowed swindles between the depts to achieve >equilibrium growth ( Mattick Sr certainly did not deny the main point of >Paul Z's critique, though Paul Z does not acknowledge this); however, Bauer's opinion on Luxemburg, right or wrong, is not my main point. If those 'swindles' were the main point we all would get somewhere, because there is real substance in discussing the meaning of what Bauer was attempting (his ignoring the use-value/exchange-value distinction). Anyway, Rosdolsky already dealt with the 'swindles' issue a long time ago (1968, pp. 497-99) and not only agrees with Luxemburg, his rebuttal is complementary to and perhaps even clearer than Luxemburg's own. To conclude, I defend my proposition that Bukharin has a 'sword' out against Luxemburg, and Grossman, a 'knife' (yes, I use those words!). Those interested may see, "Rosa Luxemburg's *Accumulation of Capital*: Critics try to bury the Message", *Bringing Capitalism Back for Critique by Social Theory, Current Perspectives in Social Theory*, Vol. 21, Jennifer Lehmann, ed., JAI/Elsevier Press, New York, 2001, pp. 3-45. Paul
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