Re: (OPE-L) "Marx, Markets and Meatgrinders: An Interview with Bertell Ollman" from Political Affairs

From: Francisco Paulo Cipolla (cipolla@UFPR.BR)
Date: Fri Mar 05 2004 - 08:13:29 EST


Just to enlarge a little the list of hints regarding the relationship of economy
and state in Marx one could add:
5. The productive role of state firms in the division of labor whenever the
private sector would not do it due to consistent lower profit rates (basic
sectors such as electric energy, etc. although history shows that this belongs
to a phase of capitalism which is overcome as soon as these sectors begin to
promise profits)
6. The role of National Banks in issuing symbols of metallic money valid all
over a nation´s territory as opposed to local bank issuance of credit money that
was only locally valid (Claus may give us a hand regarding this issue).
As everyone else around, I am very curious about how Marx himself would procede
in integrating the state in his overall theory of capitalism. Since he is not
around it would be interesting to see how opel-ers think he would have proceded.

Paulo

Francisco Paulo Cipolla wrote:

> Regarding the theory of the capitalist state, one of the "pressing questions
> in marxist theory", some elements emerge from Capital:
> 1. taxes (?)
> 2. public debt (Chapter on credit, vol III)
> 3. regulation of the use of labor power (Chapter on Working day, Chapter on
> Modern Industry)
> 4. role of guaranteing liquidity to the banking system in crisis (Chapters
> on credit,  vol.III)
>
> Could one say that the theory of the state in Marx is derived from all
> processes that could go wrong in the capitalist market system, processes in
> relation to which the state has to develop means to deal with on a
> systematic basis?
> What is our basic reading, if any, for this issue?
> Paulo
>
> glevy@PRATT.EDU wrote:
>
> > Note especially the answer to the last question -- "What are the most
> > pressing questions in Marxist theory?".
> >
> > In solidarity, Jerry
> >
> > "Marx, Markets and Meatgrinders: An Interview with Bertell Ollman," by
> > Joel Wendland
> >  http://politicalaffairs.net/article/view/108
> >
> > Editor’s Note: Bertell Ollman is a professor of political science at New
> > York University. He worked in the middle 1960s as an adviser to the
> > Michael Manly government in Jamaica. He invented the board game Class
> > Struggle. He is the author of numerous books on Marxism, most recently,
> > How to Take and Exam…and Remake the World, Ballbuster?: True Confessions
> > of a Marxist Businessman, and Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marxist
> > Methods.


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Mar 06 2004 - 00:00:01 EST