From: Paul Zarembka (zarembka@BUFFALO.EDU)
Date: Wed Sep 29 2004 - 11:08:07 EDT
Jerry, For the first time in my life I'm teaching environmental economics and becoming much more aware of fossil fuel depletion and global warming. I don't know how to fit the Amish into modes of production issues (inc. capitalism), but I do know that the recent book *Powerdown* offers the Amish as a lesson how at least some could simply survive the end of the fossil fuel era. In any case, in no way was I suggesting the Amish form of production as a model within capitalism. Capitalism is itself the problem. Sorry, but I don't have a big program to offer anyone; it's all too scary! Paul Z. ************************************************************************* Vol.21-Neoliberalism in Crisis, Accumulation, and Rosa Luxemburg's Legacy RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Zarembka/Soederberg, eds, Elsevier Science ********************** http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka On Wed, 29 Sep 2004, Gerald A. Levy wrote: > Hi Paul Z. > > > Since Sept. 13, the Nader/Camejo web site carries every day a new > > 'featured national asset', today being The Amish. Without saying so but > > connected to yesterday's press release for the Nader/Camejo Campaign -- > > "Global Climate Change Requires Us to Break Our Addiction to Fossil > > Fuels", it offers a way forward as humanity destroys millions of years of > > fossil fuel build-up. > > While Amish communities can not be considered to be "Utopian > Socialist" -- perhaps "Utopian Capitalist" might be a better description -- > the belief that the Amish experience and lifestyle can be generalized > while the capitalist mode of production dominates and this "offers a > way forward" could be subjected to a critique similar to Marx's critique > of Utopians like Owen and Fourier, don't you think? Of course, > many radical environmentalists -- including a lot of my anarchist > friends -- reject that critique of Marx and defend Utopianism. > The ideology of the Green Party is, at least partially, self-consciously > Utopian, I think. > > "Is small beautiful?" is a related question. > > In solidarity, Jerry > > >
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