Volume I of CAPITAL is all about class domination, exploitation, and struggle. But volumes II and III are more "superficial" (in Marx's terms), dealing with the relationships among industries, issues of finance, etc. In fact, volume III is in many ways the same as the bourgeois political economy of Marx's day. The difference is that the volume III analysis is done within the context of volume I's analysis. For example, though Marx's analysis of interest rates isn't that different from bourgeois views, he views interest income as part of surplus-value, which comes from exploitation. He sees markets and competition as distorting appearances, so that people don't usually see it that way. (Instead, they might think of interest as income extorted by unfair usurers, etc., which is true in many cases but not on the societal level.) But that doesn't say that Marx simply flushed bourgeois analysis down the loo. Sure, behind markets there are death squads. But the system has to be legitimated, too. No system can run totally by force for very long. (If it does, the entire surplus-product goes to protecting the system and it doesn't grow.) Commodity fetishism (the illusions produced by competition, as vol. III calls it) helps to legitimize the system. We can't understand that by simply looking at the death squads. jd
-----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list on behalf of Charles Brown Sent: Fri 6/25/2004 7:35 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Subject: [PEN-L] Marxist Fianancial Advice I always wonder whether Marx intended the concepts in _Capital_ to be used in detailed analyses of things like oil price fluctuations or concrete business cycles. The only practice that might accompany such analyses would be such things as Keynesian and social dem reforms to soften the impact of recessions or regulation of the oil companies and their prices: Marxist advice on how to reform capitalism. Marx's discussion of the struggle for shorter work week reforms is related to actual mass movements of workers at the time, situations where masses of workers were in fact in organized motion and thereby with potential to turn into revolutionary struggles. But today , there are not mass worker movements to influence oil prices or blunt the business cycle. Charles ^^^^^ by sartesian Keerist, can't we at least spell "financial" correctly? And then terminate this thread? Marxist financial advice. Come on. Cut it out. Where doe s this take us? Marxist arbitrage? Marxist hedge funds? Behind every free market there's a death squad, at least one. You need more money? Ssssshhhh. Don't tell anyone. Figure it out yourself or go get a CFA. Next subject, Marxist methods of seducing housekeepers?