Suchergebnisse

Responding to comments by Ben Fine in relation to the concept of the degree of separation among workers, this article argues that Fine (a) confuses Marx's levels of analysis and thus cannot distinguish between necessity and contingency; (b) fails to grasp the problematic character of Marx's discussion of relative surplus-value once we remove the assumption of a given standard of necessity; and (c) accordingly remains trapped (like so many others) in a 'Ricardian Box' that Marx himself was able to escape. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractResponding to comments by Ben Fine in relation to the concept of the degree of separation among workers, this article argues that Fine (a) confuses Marx's levels of analysis and thus cannot distinguish between necessity and contingency; (b) fails to grasp the problematic character of Marx's discussion of relative surplus-value once we remove the assumption of a given standard of necessity; and (c) accordingly remains trapped (like so many others) in a 'Ricardian Box' that Marx himself was able to escape.

Sees socialism as the only way to achieve genuine human development, ie, the full development of all human potential. It is argued that key tenets of Marxist revolutionary practice, which can yield full human development, lie at the heart of the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela. However, noting that the Constitution retained support for capitalism, contemplated is whether overall human development is possible with capitalism. In this light, the logic of capitalism is subject to critique, focusing on production; worker exploitation; necessary vs surplus labor; the struggle between capitalists & workers as centered on the struggle over the degree of separation among workers; how capitalism cripples workers; the capitalist creation of needs; exploitation in the sphere of circulation; capitalisms failure to expand markets & consequent economic crises; the role of the state under capitalism; imperialism as driven by capitals drive for profits; & capitalism as a vicious circle of growing alienated production, growing needs, & growing consumption. Equating capitalism to barbarism & asserting that it could never act as a path to human development, attention is given to socialism as an alternative, highlighting the elementary triangle of socialism comprising (1) social ownership of the means of production; (2) worker-organized social production; & (3) satisfied communal needs & communal purposes. D. Edelman

Considers the essence of Venezuela's Bolivarian Constitution in terms of Hugo Chavez's "humanist socialism," which stresses human development. The roots of this humanist brand of socialism are traced to the 19th-century socialists, eg, Henri Saint-Simon, Friedrich Engel, & Karl Marx, who discussed the full development of human capacity, which occurs via practice or activity. The Bolivarian Constitution of 1999 is criticized for its retention of support for capitalism; this leads to a discussion of how capitalism stands opposed to human development & how the elementary triangle of socialism -- ie, social ownership of the means of production, worker-organized production, & production for the satisfaction of communal needs & purposes -- is required for full human development. It is asserted that progress toward this humanist socialism would have been advanced through Chavez's proposed constitutional reforms. Various capitalist & imperialist obstacles to achieving this socialism are noted, & it is concluded that the practice of socialism, particularly in the form of building revolutionary democracy, must continue to overcome them & realize Chavez's vision of a new 21st-century socialism. D. Edelman