Re: [OPE-L] class theory

From: GERALD LEVY (gerald_a_levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Mon Oct 29 2007 - 10:02:09 EDT


>Thought you might object Jerry. I simply disagree. Understanding the class
>content of social theory follows from the perspective of historical
>materialism.

Hi Ian:

In that case you won't object to the following:

"The Temporal Single-System Interpretaqtion (TSSI) of Marx is a sub-category
of
quantitative Marxism which was developed by professional economists and
academics.
The TSSI is a perspective which represents the isolation of many Marxian
economists
from the class struggle and the retreat of part of that group into stale,
hermeneutic debates amongst themselves.  The effect of this is to reinforce
their own isolation. The TSSI thus
expresses the interests of a segment of  a  skilled and elite segment of the
working class.
Like other brands of professional economists, their use of  mathematics and
specialized knowledge is necessary to receive acceptance and possible career
advancement
within the universities where they teach.  The TSSI is  the latest attempt
to legitimize the
study of Marx and Marxism and hence their own position within the Academy to
bourgeois economists and University administrators.  As part of this
project, it  seeks to utilize the exact
same analytical tools of professional economists.  This is despite the fact
that some of those analytical tools were not employed by Marx when analysing
the issues in which advocates of
the TSSI have become obsessed.  This contradiction has not been accepted by
proponents
of the TSSI because its recognition would lead to the self-dissolution
(suicide) of the school.
The hermeneutic focus of their debates  and their desire to 'reclaim Marx'
from alleged
non-believers and heretics is an indication of its  quasi-religious
character and orientation. It is
therefore a religious denomentation which has been engaged in debates with
other denomenations. Unlike many of those other denomenations, pride of
place in the TSSI is given
to what they see as the proper repetition of  Church doctrine concerning
Marx.  They consider themselves to be the most faithful of Marxians -
indeed,   they have claimed that their
interpretation is simply "Marx's Marxism".  Hence, the TSSI  doctrine is
similar to the Jesuitical
doctrine in the Catholoc Church -- the difference only being that in  the
TSSI Church  the
person of Karl Marx is  substituted for that of Jesus Christ."

One might object that such characterizations -- even if they are a result of
an understanding
of historical materialism -- do not advance discussions and that was the
basic point of my
previous post.

In solidarity, Jerry


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