Jim Devine wrote: > >>There are no "individuals" Rod, only subjects. > > what's the difference between an "individual" and a "subject"? It seems to > be merely a matter of semantics. "Individuals" need not be atomistic or > isolated in nature. > > If I understand Marx correctly, individuals/subjects reflect the ensemble > of social relations -- but the existing ensemble of social relations are > created by individuals/subjects (though not exactly as they please), as > part of a dialectical and historical process. > > Marx's point wasn't that "individuals" don't exist as much as that any > given individual is _powerless_ (if acting in isolation) to affect the > historical process, so that the character of the individual is more of a > "dependent variable" than an independent one. (He didn't address the > genetic component of the determination of the individual's character, to my > knowledge, though there must be some sort of genetic basis for "species > being" and for the differences between people and beasts.) > > We can't undermine capitalistm, for instance, by simply meditating, > changing our minds, wishing for a better world, writing letters to the > editor, standing as individuals on street corners shouting at passersby, or > voting. To change the historical process, masses of individuals/subjects > need to be organized in collective practice, as with the English Chartists > or the mass Social Democratic Party of Germany of Marx's time. > > _____________ Since when I have become someone worth talking to, Jim? Anyway, my problem with your Marxism is that you make Marx too pedestrian for my taste. As far as I see your basic problem, it seems that you think we are denying that human beings have a specific genetic configuration that gives them human capacities and capabilities. We are not denying this. This is as much true for humans as for rats, bacteria, or any living thing. All we are saying is that your consciousness of your individuality, of who you are, which makes you act one way or the other has no independent existence apart from the web of relations that explain your actions. It neither *determins* nor *limits* you, it is all there is to you as a human-social subject. Cheers, ajit sinha
