Re: [OPE] free competition

> Primitive communism still exists today in some places; no eye exam needed.

Hi Paula:

Ah, but when I first asked you the question (4/29) I explicitly referred to a
MODERN communist society. I did so so as to differentiate it from
primitive communism. I also thought you understood this because in your
reply you referred to "our historical evolution, and particularly in capitalism,
which itself lays the material conditions for communism."

As for whether primitive communism exists in some isolated society today,
I suppose it's possible but I can't think of any off-hand - unless you mean
communes existing as alternative communities in predominantly
capitalist societies??? Regardless, that would only speak to your other claim that
communism is (partially) rooted in "the biological nature of man, our capacity
for co-operation" rather than the claim about "our historical evolution"
(see excerpt above).

> You could have thought of that example all by yourself, simply by dropping
> the postmodernist nonsense about "ideological constructions" and thinking
> instead about the reality of human development.

What I have been saying was not based on any post-modernist
conceptions.

We still seem to differ regarding the origins of myths and ideals.
No doubt, one could advance explanations for how conceptions of
Lucifer, Mother Goose, and The Tooth Fairy concern the reality of
human developmnent but I think that the connection between
mythology and social function is often not clear-cut and there
are myths which are ideological in nature and don't correspond to any
social reality - such as the myth of free competition. What is the
reality of human development behind the Tooth Fairy other than a
reality that children loose their teeth and parents and others want to
comfort them by telling them a nice tale? What is the reality of
Zeus and Mount Olympus or Thor and Valhalla? Yes, these myths
certainly serve a social function and reflect social ideals, but
they still ARE myths.

In solidarity, Jerry
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Received on Thu May 5 18:13:01 2011