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Well, all the artifacts created by human labour over the last 1 million years (Homo Erectus) are the shared heritage of the whole of mankind. >From the Lasceaux Cavern paintings (18 000 BC) to Dogon masks, from Mayan pyramids to Shang dynasty bronze cauldrons, from Buddhist statues to the Parthenon, all this is the product of human labour and thus OUR shared heritage. None of these artifacts belong to any state. A modern state claiming such artifacts as "the national heritage of our people" is total nonsense. They were produced by human beings who never imagined that their work would be exhibited in museums. More importantly they were produced by societies who had NO IDEA of what commodity production meant. They are the product of religious and cultural contexts that are so far removed from modern Capitalism that the gap is impossible to bridge. All these intricately crafted artworks, representing thousands of hours of labour, were made by people in accordance with the traditions of the predominent mode of production prevailing at the time. So, as our common human heritage, all historical artifacts up to the 19th century should, in all justice, be under the custody of an international body responsible for preserving mankind's artistic heritage, and should be on itinerant display on every continent. Six months in one major city, six months in another, and so on... No more permanent collections. Using the past to bolster a particuliar nation state under the pretext that "these remarkable civilizations were our ancestors" is absurd. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
