{"id":1188,"date":"2008-05-30T01:06:52","date_gmt":"2008-05-29T15:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1188"},"modified":"2008-05-30T01:12:05","modified_gmt":"2008-05-29T15:12:05","slug":"marxists-hobgoblins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1188","title":{"rendered":"Marxists & Hobgoblins"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the more interesting derivations of Marxist thought is contained in the works of CLR James<\/a> (1901–1989) and Raya Dunayevskaya<\/a> (1910–1987), aka<\/em> ‘Marxist Humanism’<\/a>. For a short period, James and Dunayevskaya were members of the (US) Trotskyist Socialist Workers’ Party<\/a> (Est.1938), but left in 1940 to join the Workers’ Party. Within the WP they formed the Johnson-Forest tendency, his pseudonym being Johnson and Dunayevskaya’s Forest. They were joined in this tendency by Grace Lee Boggs<\/a> (1915–), and the trio formed its principal theorists. Together they played a crucial role in developing the theory of state capitalism in Soviet Russia, later popularised by Tony Cliff<\/a> (1917–2000). Aufheben<\/a><\/em> notes:<\/p>\n

One state capitalist theory that accepted that ‘profit’ as it appeared on the surface of Soviet society was not profit in a Marxian sense was that developed by Raya Dunayevskaya. In pioneering work in the late 1930s [and] early ’40s, she undertook a functional analysis of the cycle of capital accumulation as it actually took place in the USSR. She saw that the role of the ‘turnover tax’ on consumer goods gave an entirely ‘fictitious profit’ to light industries, but this was “merely the medium through which the state, not the industry siphons off anything ‘extra’ it gave the worker by means of wages.” And this is “why this ‘profit’ attracts neither capital nor the individual agents of capital.” However, as she points out, even in classical capitalism, “the individual agent of capital has at no time realised directly the surplus value extracted in his particular factory. He has participated in the distribution of national surplus value, to the extent that his individual capital was able to exert pressure on this aggregate capital. This pressure in Russia is exerted, not through competition, but state planning.” (Dunayevskaya, ‘The Nature of the Russian Economy’ in The Marxist-Humanist Theory of State-Capitalism<\/em> (Chicago: News & Letters, 1992)). However, despite this recognition that in terms of ‘profit’ one had to see through the discourse of the Russian economists to the reality, she took their admission in 1943 that the ‘law of value’ did operate in the USSR at face value as, for her, an admission that it was state capitalist. She thus saw no reason to take theoretical analysis of the situation any further.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whatever the merits of their theory of state capitalism, having first re-joined the SWP in 1947, then leaving again in 1951 to form the Correspondence Publishing Committee, the Tendency soon went its separate ways; in 1955, Dunayevskaya leaving to form News & Letters (still extant); in 1962, Boggs and a number of others splitting with James. James himself started a new organisation called Facing Reality — which continued to do so until 1970, when reality apparently said ‘no’.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2008, and the News and Letters Committees<\/a> have undergone a s-p-l-i-t. The splitters have recently announced (May 28<\/a>) their intention to form a brand spanking new organisation. Oddly, the new mob issued a statement on March 10 announcing their split, but access to it on their new site is currently being denied<\/a>. Luckily, it remains available via cache (see below). Note that, upon News of the Statement, the remaining members of the N&LC wrote a Letter (Setting the Historic Record Straight<\/a>, March 14, 2008). Anyway, here’s the statement made by the mutineers:<\/p>\n

Statement of the Marxist-Humanist Tendency<\/a>
\nMarch 10, 2008<\/p>\n

Dear Friends,<\/p>\n

We are writing to alert all readers and friends of a serious crisis afflicting News and Letters Committees (N&LC) — a crisis that places its very existence in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

In response to philosophic disputes within N&LC over the past several years, an organized group within N&LC has usurped control of the organization and is acting in complete disregard of the democratically approved perspectives and principles that have defined it since [its] founding in 1955 as a decentralized, non-hierarchical group based on the unity of worker and intellectual, theory and practice, and philosophy and organization. Those wanting to continue our democratic and humanist heritage have formed the Marxist-Humanist Tendency of N&LC. It constitutes almost half of the membership of N&LC, and we appeal to you to support us in our effort to reverse the crisis that threatens America’s only Marxist-Humanist organization…<\/p>\n

Those who have moved away from the need to develop a viable Marxism for the 21st century have acted to prevent N&LC from functioning in such a way that its philosophic perspectives can be promoted, concretized, and developed…<\/p>\n

In order to defend and implement the current Perspectives of the organization, democratically approved by an overwhelming majority six months ago, a large number of the members of N&LC have constituted themselves as The Marxist-Humanist Tendency of N&LC…<\/p>\n

The intransigence of the opponents of the Marxist-Humanist Tendency, who have refused to listen or take into consideration our views in violation of socialist democratic norms, suggests that they are intent on pushing the members of the Marxist-Humanist Tendency out of N&LC.<\/p>\n

In late February they sent a letter to the membership that hints at our expulsion. And they have refused to rule out expulsion as an option they might implement at a Convention that will take place at the end of May, an unprecedented “special Convention” that they called hastily and without any organizational discussion having taken place beforehand…<\/p>\n

We are convinced that the important philosophic work that has been accomplished by N&LC in recent years-most of it by those who are now affiliated with the Marxist-Humanist Tendency-provides a firm basis from which the philosophy of Marxist-Humanism can and will be continued. We cannot achieve this, however, without your support.<\/p>\n

We are all being tested by this crisis, and it has been tremendously uplifting to see so many of our members and friends, especially those who have contributed in such a major way to our political-philosophic-organizational development in recent years, rise to the occasion by opposing the recent efforts to pull apart the body of ideas of Marxist-Humanis[m] from organization. We cannot allow N&LC to be destroyed for the sake of some private enclaves. We must not allow a clique to undermine two decades of vital theoretic, political, and philosophic work. We must begin anew, and we are determined to do so-not just for the short term but for the long haul…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also<\/em> : The Hobgoblin<\/a><\/em>. “Until 2005 The Hobgoblin<\/em> was a printed journal, published by the London Corresponding Committee. Since then we have become an online journal.” | Loren Goldner, Introduction to the Johnson-Forest Tendency and the Background to \u201cFacing Reality\u201d<\/a> (2002) and Facing Reality 45 Years Later: Critical Dialogue with James\/Lee\/Chaulieu<\/a> (2004)<\/p>\n

On a vaguely-related note, Thursday’s addition of The Age<\/em> carries an article — published in the Business section — on ‘The regiments of left and right now march to market’<\/a>, penned by a corporate flak from the Institute of Public Affairs. (The print edition carries a great big picture of Marx with a great bid red X over his face.) According to Ken Phillips:<\/p>\n

THE left has lost. So say the left! This is not a point-scoring statement from someone from the right but the words of the people from the left themselves. They say that market-based capitalism has proven it works. They no longer hate it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This may seem simple but it is staggering in its consequences for politics in Australia. It is seminal and all embracing.<\/p>\n

The old left-right battle is now no longer primary to understanding the fundamentals of Australian politics. Deeper analysis and deeper meaning must be investigated.<\/p>\n

The shift is blunt. The central plank of left politics<\/a> has always been that the capitalist system necessitated war between two classes; the workers and the bosses.<\/p>\n

The bosses (capitalists and managers), would always seek to exploit the workers. The economic system required this and concentrated power with the bosses. Consequently, workers had to bond collectively to prevent being exploited. This inevitability of class warfare is the core of the left’s economic and political world view.<\/p>\n

But in the past few years the left has accepted the falsehood of this assumption, particularly as it applies to Australia. That’s a huge step for the left. It recognises and accepts that market-based capitalism clearly delivers sustained economic growth and maximises equitable distribution of wealth. Exploitation is not inherent in market capitalism. The left no longer hates market capitalism. It has embraced it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It recognises that deprivation is not a consequence of market capitalism but is the product of other human situations; namely family dysfunction, ill health, disability, poor education and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

This shift by the left is new and can be identified in fairly recent writings of leading left academics and the repositioning of the Left of the Labor Party. It’s not something they are yelling out loud but it’s a huge political development. It holds huge implications for economic management, business operations, workplace relations and social policy…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A powerful analysis by Phillips, one which has a just a few tiny flaws.<\/p>\n

Can you spot them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the more interesting derivations of Marxist thought is contained in the works of CLR James (1901–1989) and Raya Dunayevskaya (1910–1987), aka ‘Marxist Humanism’. For a short period, James and Dunayevskaya were members of the (US) Trotskyist Socialist Workers’ … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-state"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6AyE-ja","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}