Maxing and Relaxing

Been at home maxing and relaxing. Have been reading the Da Vinci Code. It was sitting on the kitchen table, I picked it up and couldn't stop reading it. I'm near the end and a little annoyed right now because he keeps using the same little tricks and puzzles and they're getting a tiny bit tiresome. A couple of clever manuevers are enough, you can only do so many before you start tipping your hand. It's still fun though and I'll finish it this afternoon.

Just read an interesting article on the intellectual origins of America-bashing. Basically, it argues that the failure of traditional Marxism to play out has tranformed the intellectual movement towards a new theory - the global immiseration thesis.

Marxist theory wasn't interested in utopian fantasies - it was a scientific theory that speculated once profit fell in capitalist countries, workers would become poorer and poorer, and eventually revolt based on their NEED to do so. (to feed themselves, etc) In practicality, this has not happened, workers in capitalist countries have become richer over time, albeit not as quickly or as rich as the owners, but richer still. Therefore, Marx himself would point out that the first premise of his theories has not been met, and hence the rest will not and cannot follow.

What has followed intellectually is the global immeseration thesis, that the people in capitalist countries have become rich at the expense of people in the 3rd world countries. In short, the workers in capitalist countries have become capitalists themselves. Supposing this is true, it still undermines traditional Marxist theory. Marx argues that it would be an internal class war that would start a revolution, out of the need by the workers. With the global immiseration thesis, the war would be between nations - 3rd World against Capitalist countries. That is a lot different than an internal Civil War - and a lot less winnable.

Imagine if the 3rd World tried to fight the 1st World in a war. It would be a joke. And what would the demands be? How could you mobilize people to fight in such a war? How would it benefit them?

Some point to 9/11 as the first shot in this war. But is it? Clearly not. 9/11 was not an action with political demands. It was a group of fanatics - with a fantasy ideology, not a scientific argument (ie. Marxist) for why large groups of people would revolt against, in this case, the United States. In fact, if anything, it gave the US more solidarity amongst ourselves and with the rest of the world (admittedly short lived b/c of numerous global-political reasons, but not because of an identification with the misery of 9-11).

Marx himself warns of fantasy ideology or utopian fantasies. They are both impractical, ie impossible, and can be immoral. Especially if one thinks there is a short-cut towards the elimination of human suffering. There isn't. It's a long road of small victories in small battles that lead to a better and more prosperous world. To think there is a short-cut by toppling the most powerful and the most rich and that all of a sudden the world will come into perfect harmony is not only stupid and short sighted, but cause to support and do atrocious acts in the name of a fantasy that can never be.