Gerry,
I don't disagree with most of this, except that that I am (with the benefit
of 120+ years of hindsight) much less sanguine, and somewhat more idealist
(transcendentally) than Marx. IMHO:-
1. The transition away from capitalism will come only as sufficient numbers
of people, on the basis of a clear insight into the nature of their
exploitation, organise to bring about that political change. (I do not
suggest this cannot be a piece meal process of the dialectic of reform and
revolution, not that it must be.)
2. We can have little advanced knowledge of what will emerge from such a
transitional process.
3. Some of his portentous remarks (such as those you point out in the
Grundrisse plans) based upon the tendencies that Marx identified within
capitalism - the development of joint-stock ground of Capitals, and the
inevitability of crises, in particular - should clearly now be seen as much
as part of the reproduction process of Capitalism itself, rather than as
portending any pre-revolutionary cataclysm.
Michael.
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Dr Michael Williams
"Books are Weapons"
Department of Economics Home:
School of Social Sciences 26 Glenwood Avenue
De Montfort University Southampton
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email: Mike.Williams@dmu.ac.uk mwilliam@compuserve.com
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