From: glevy@PRATT.EDU
Date: Thu Nov 23 2006 - 20:32:05 EST
> But it is not to be excluded that at some time in the future > after out species is extinct, other species on earth will > develop capitalism as well. Hi Paul: Yes. Highly unlikely for a variety of reasons, imo, but possible. Returning to the here and now: There are species which produce a surplus product. There are species which already have social relations which might be described as primitive communism. For example, species which cooperatively hunt in groups, divide equally the spoils of the hunt, and live in communities. And, of course, there are your ants and slavery. I already suggested that elephants might be considered under certain conditions to be enslaved. In addition to the other characteristics I mentioned, animal handlers know that elephants can both try to escape and resist their condition, individually or in groups. Even the means of enforcement, e.g. a whip, are similar. The more we know about other species, the more there is cause for scepticism about claims of human uniqueness. Whatever Marx did or did not believe about this, he was a product of the 19th Century. We have to look at these questions from the standpoint of 21st Century knowledge. In solidarity, Jerry
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