----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry M. Cleaver" <hmcleave@eco.utexas.edu> To: "gerald_a_levy" <gerald_a_levy@msn.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 8:42 AM Subject: Re: fyi & btw, a bit more > On Wed, 17 Apr 2002, gerald_a_levy wrote: > > > > > > It seems to me that as a *political slogan* (which, evidently, at least > > > one other person -- not Harry -- has turned it into), it misses the mark > > > and runs the risk of trivializing struggles against capital as struggles > > > against boredom. As a *conclusion* of a *critique* of capital, is it > > valid > > > or is it misleading? What do others think? > > Just one more thing: I don't mind the slogan, we need lots that target > every destestable aspect of how capital injures human life, but I > certainly wouldn't consider the statement that "capitalism is boring" THE > conclusion of a critique of capital. One conclusion maybe, but obviously > there are lots of others. That said, I don't think the critique of boredom > is trivial, the imposition of boredom not only amounts to the > imposition of alienation from species-being as Marx says, it also > facilitates the capitalist reshaping of desire around commodity > consumption (a second aspect of alienation), competition (a third aspect > of alienation) on and off the job, and the acceptance of all sorts of > activities whose content, pattern and effects are designed to reproduce > capital. Think of school and 12 years of imposed boredom designed to > prepare kids for 30-40 more years of boredom-on-the-job (waged or unwaged) > devoted to the reproduction of their lives and others lives as labor > power. This is a horrifying mass stultification of human life imposed on > generation after generation and when that life rebels it is considered, > for the most part, deviant, or delinquent, criminal, etc., except where it > is marginal and can be channeled into ever more work. > > Harry > > ............................................................................ > Snail-mail: > Harry Cleaver > Department of Economics > University of Texas at Austin > Austin, Texas 78712-1173 USA > > Phone Numbers: > (hm) (512) 442-5036 > (off) (512) 475-8535 > Fax:(512) 471-3510 > > E-mail: > hmcleave@eco.utexas.edu > PGP Public Key: http://certserver.pgp.com:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=hmcleave > > Cleaver homepage: > http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/index2.html > > Chiapas95 homepage: > http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html > > Accion Zapatista homepage: > http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/ ............................................................................
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