Jim Devine wrote: > > > On the other hand, those most antagonistic to capitalism and its > imperialism are least likely to be conspiracy-minded. Capitalism and > imperialism are social systems, not conspiracies.
They are social systems which continually generate at the local level what look like "conspiracies" (and are in a narrowly technical sense) from the outside but are merely the everyday workings of capitalism. Police brutality, including every so often rather systematic torture (as apparently occurred over many years in at least one precinct in Chicago) are unavoidable in a system which requires an organized repressive force -- and in which the morale of that force depends on offering it a more or less free pass to carry out its own perceived interests. If (as now again seems likely) the judicial murder of Mumia goes through the main motive (governing, I think, even many of the judges involved) will be maintaining the morale of the thugs who make up the Philadelphia Police Dept. A WSJ editorial some years ago was quite explicit on this point. Some of those local "conspiracies" are delightfully penny-ante. After I got soaked with a near-maximum fine on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace I found out from the grapevine that the plan had been to levy such a maximum fine if and only if the sentencing hearing could be held in one of the courtrooms with minimal seating capacity. Thus, while nearly 400 students were milling about in the hallways outside, the only friendly audience inside the courtroom was Jan. Carrol
