From: Francisco Paulo Cipolla (cipolla@UFPR.BR)
Date: Fri Mar 05 2004 - 15:22:52 EST
Thank you Jerry. IŽll think it over during the week-end. Paulo "Gerald A. Levy" wrote: > Hi Paolo. I wrote the following before your most recent post but I'll > let it remain "as is". > > > 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? > > That would be a one-sided conception. One shouldn't conceptualize the > state only negatively as a derivative of what "could go wrong". The state > also has affirmative dimensions where there are struggles over what > "could go right." The state can be pro-active rather than just defensively > responding to the processes that "could go wrong ....". > > This expression "what could go wrong" is a bit slippery. E.g. in a sense > one could argue that public housing, public universities, national health > programs, etc. are a response to what "has gone wrong" ... but not > necessarily from the perspective of capitalist class interests. From the > perspective of real estate companies, the banks, landlords, etc., high > rents for private housing are a manifestation of "what can go right". > >From the perspective of the working-class, public housing is an > indication of "what can go right". > > > What is our basic reading, if any, for this issue? > > I'm going to make a suggestion but first I'll preface it with some > comments: > > a) well, of course, the easiest thing would be to recommend > Marx (_Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right_; _The Class Struggles > in France_; _The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte_ ,Engels (_Origin > of the Family, Private Property and the State_; _Anti-Duhring_) and > Lenin (_State and Revolution_). But, the object is not to comprehend > the role of the state in all class societies (as Engels attempts in _Origin > of the Family ...._) or to comprehend the role of state policy in an > individual capitalist social formation during a particular historical moment > (as Marx does in _Class Struggles ...), but rather to develop a *theory* > of the state which is *part of* a larger understanding of the essential > nature and dynamics of the bourgeois mode of production. That is, > we need an *integrated theory*. > > b) what is required in terms of reading and research is to: > > i) contextualize our understanding of the state-form by considering its > logical place within a systematic dialectical reconstruction of the CMP > in thought. For instance, we should ponder the *implications* of not > systematically examining the state-form in _Capital_. We should consider > the role of the major classes (and how e.g. there is class segmentation > yet unity-in-diversity within a class) as a prelude for introducing the > state-form. Similarly, part of the contextualization would be to consider > what subjects are presented after an examination of the state-form (e.g. > trade; world market and crises). In other words, to be able to > systematically reconstruct the CMP in thought, including an adequate grasp > of the state, we must first have an image of the whole. Or, putting it > simplistically, we first have to understand how the main pieces fit > together. > > ii) just as Marx's presentation in _Capital_ presumed a critique of > political economy, we would have to grasp the nature of bourgeois > thought on the state since a critique of bourgeois theories of the state > (whether part of the presentation or not) would be a component part > of our grasp of the state-form. Furthermore, we would have to examine > the very rich literature by Marxists on the capitalist state. > > Now, having written the above, I'll make a very highly controversial > suggestion for reading. This suggestion is not because the authors > necessarily "got it right" but rather because it can serve as a good point > of departure. Its advantages are that the authors: > > -- attempt to contextualize an understanding of the state-form > (particularly with reference to an understanding of the value-form, the > commodity-form, and the capital-form) and thereby attempt to present > an integrated theory of the CMP which includes the state as a component > part, and; > > -- because there is a comprehensive review of the literature on the state > that can serve as a guide for further research. > > With the above qualifications, my recommendation for "basic reading" is -- > > * Reuten-G. and Williams, M. (1989) VALUE-FORM AND THE STATE: THE > TENDENCIES OF ACCUMULATION AND THE DETERMINATION > OF ECONOMIC POLICY IN CAPITALIST SOCIETY. London and > New York: Routledge > > Has anyone else on the list got any better ideas for a single work to begin > one's basic reading? > > In solidarity, Jerry
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