chuy
26th October 2011, 01:33
My first post didn't seem to work the first time, but maybe there's a lapse. Excuse this if it's double post.
A friend of mine recently forwarded some questions from a university group that she has connections to. I was hoping that some people here could share their thoughts on them.
Does the Occupy movement cultivate meaningful political space in America for voices that have historically been excluded?
-Does the Occupy movement help us seek genuine postcapitalism, or reinforce Marxist ideas of production as the sole measure of human contribution and worth?
-
On some level, whether to a greater or lesser extent, most of us owe our economic existence to the old order. Is the Occupy movement a groundswell on the part of the self-interested individuals, or might it better be characterized an outburst of democracy for the collective good?
My short answer to the first would be, yes. As far as I can tell people from historically excluded communities are participating (more so in some cities than in others) in the OWS occupations/actions, or at least arent prevented from doing so if they wish to.
Im a little confused on the second. Im not exactly sure what genuine postcapitailism means, and it sounds to me like the question is asserting that Marx does indeed reduce the worth of people down to their contributions in production. Im not sure how accurate that is. I guess Im inclined to think that equating/basing a persons worth solely on their productive contribution isnt particularly Marxist at all. Let me know if Im off on that.
The last question seems a bit confused to me (or else its me). Unless someone is essentially living under a rock, how could anyones economic existence not be directly tied to the capitalist order? Also, what would be an example of a person not concerned with their self-interest? And does acting on that concern necessarily contradict the collective good?
A friend of mine recently forwarded some questions from a university group that she has connections to. I was hoping that some people here could share their thoughts on them.
Does the Occupy movement cultivate meaningful political space in America for voices that have historically been excluded?
-Does the Occupy movement help us seek genuine postcapitalism, or reinforce Marxist ideas of production as the sole measure of human contribution and worth?
-
On some level, whether to a greater or lesser extent, most of us owe our economic existence to the old order. Is the Occupy movement a groundswell on the part of the self-interested individuals, or might it better be characterized an outburst of democracy for the collective good?
My short answer to the first would be, yes. As far as I can tell people from historically excluded communities are participating (more so in some cities than in others) in the OWS occupations/actions, or at least arent prevented from doing so if they wish to.
Im a little confused on the second. Im not exactly sure what genuine postcapitailism means, and it sounds to me like the question is asserting that Marx does indeed reduce the worth of people down to their contributions in production. Im not sure how accurate that is. I guess Im inclined to think that equating/basing a persons worth solely on their productive contribution isnt particularly Marxist at all. Let me know if Im off on that.
The last question seems a bit confused to me (or else its me). Unless someone is essentially living under a rock, how could anyones economic existence not be directly tied to the capitalist order? Also, what would be an example of a person not concerned with their self-interest? And does acting on that concern necessarily contradict the collective good?