Re: [OPE] One party state?

When defining bourgeois democracy simply as dictatorship, are you not Ian taking the risk of wiping out legitimately democratic institutions that can be found in these incomplete democracies?   That’s the tramp where Jerry and David have fallen in. Then it’s not surprising why they simply support the substitution of one oligarchy by another of different color.   We have to go beyond this dangerous dichotomy. The future of socialism lies on this decisive step.   Regards,A. Agafonow ________________________________ De: Ian Wright <wrighti@acm.org> Para: Outline on Political Economy mailing list <ope@lists.csuchico.edu> Enviado: domingo, 7 de junio, 2009 18:22:44 Asunto: Re: [OPE] One party state? > Yes Paul B., a bourgeoisie society might hold down the economic priorities > of the opposing class, but strictly speaking we can’t talk of a dictatorship > in this case, because what defines a dictatorship is formal entry barriers > to leave out other political competitors. One of the more important scientific advances of Marxism is the class analysis of the capitalist state. Democracy can ultimately be only formal in a society based on the exploitation of one class by another. Both main parties in the US, for example, are almost entirely corrupt and slavishly follow the dictates of big money. Given recent economic events -- and the political reaction to the economic crisis in the West -- I wonder how it could be made any clearer to those with eyes to see it that the state will ultimately act to maintain the power and privilege of the financial elite. The enormous transfers of wealth from taxpayers to the financial aristocracy is a powerful example of why the term "dictatoriship of the bourgeoisie" is accurate and predictive. The USA *is* a *formal* democracy; but in practice it is a *dictatorship* of the *capitalist class*. Like many deep insights this can initially be counter-intuitive, especially to those who have been socialized into believing that their society is ultimately democratic and fair. Social scientists must go beyond how a society describes itself, and analyse how it actually functions. In my view, capitalist societies are dictatorships in this sense, both at the level of the state, and at the level of the firm. -Ian. _______________________________________________ ope mailing list ope@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope

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Received on Sun Jun 7 13:03:22 2009