At 01:18 PM 8/6/97 -0700, Jim Devine wrote, inter alia: >The key question is whether or not Marx's sins, errors, and omissions are >organic parts of his theory, so that their removal causes the whole edifice >to come crashing down. My reply (ws): Well, that seems a rather odd proposition about someone advocating the unity of theory & practice. It seems that the sharp distinction between the private and the public, on which the defence of the "theory's merits" regardless of the personal sins or virtues of the theorist hinges, is rather bourgeois -- it is a cornerstone on which the separation of the "private" and "company" time -- and thus the expropriation of the product from the producer -- rests. >From that standpoint (provided, of course, the allegations of having sex with his servant are true), Marx was no different from other employers of the time -- extracting whatever use-value he could from his female labour power. (A purist would argue that in this particular case the "product" of that liaison stayed with the immediate producer, but it is a moot point whether an "illegitimate" child is the product proper or rather an externality :)). On the second thought, however, that seems to confirm one of the fundamental points of Marx's critique of capitalism: that the system operates on its own logic that is rather independent of virtues and vices of individual capitalists. It follows that even a devout anti-capitalist is bound to behave like a capitalist when he/she is put in control of the means of production. That, BTW, is a reminder to much of today's Left, not to mention Ben-and-Jerryesque "bleeding hearts" and reformers, who seem to be pretty Dickensian in their desire to improve the system by requesting more virtuous functionaries of the system. Are you there, Max? regards, wojtek sokolowski institute for policy studies johns hopkins university baltimore, md 21218 [EMAIL PROTECTED] voice: (410) 516-4056 fax: (410) 516-8233 POLITICS IS THE SHADOW CAST ON SOCIETY BY BIG BUSINESS. AND AS LONG AS THIS IS SO, THE ATTENUATI0N OF THE SHADOW WILL NOT CHANGE THE SUBSTANCE. - John Dewey
