[OPE-L:5882] Re: Re: Hello and Kliman's cat

Paul Cockshott (wpc@CS.STRATH.AC.UK)
Mon, 22 Dec 1997 09:10:39 +0000

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Gerald Levy wrote:
>
> Paul C wrote on Thu, 18 Dec:
>
> > I would assert them to be communist, at least in their original form
> > prior to Thatchers 'reforms' on the grounds that:
> > 1. the product did not take the form of a commodity.
>
> Neither does public education.
>
> > 2. the product is distributed on the basis of need rather than
> > ability to pay.
>
> Ditto for public education.
>
> > 3. all working individuals contribute to the cost of the health service
> > by a deduction from their take home pay, as per Critique of the Gotha
> > Program.
>
> All working individuals, and others as well, contribute to the cost of
> public education (in the US) through federal, state, and local taxes.
>

Public education is also a communist element of the economy. Consider
the real transformation of social relations that would be entailed
were it abolished and replaced entirely by for profit education
paid for out of fees.