Bordiga and State Capitalism.

  1. black magick hustla
    black magick hustla
    Is there any document where he extensively writes about the capitalistic nature of the USSR?

    According to wikipedia, he used his engineering background to write a very systematic, and economic based argument.
  2. La Zora
    La Zora
    Maybe you'll find here, what you are looking for: http://www.sinistra.net/lib/bor/bordiga.html
  3. Devrim
    Devrim
    This text was originally intended to be the introduction to a french language edition of two of Amadeo Bordiga's texts on Russia: Russia and Revolution in Marxist Theory and Economic and Social Structure of Russia Today. However this proposed edition was the subject of legal action by the International Communist Party who claimed they held the copyright and was never published. Camatte's introduction was finally published in Invariance Series II, n. 4, 1974. This translation by David Brown was published in London in 1978.
    Subsequently part of Bordiga's Economic and Social Structure of Russia Today was published (first by Editions de l'oubli in 1975, later by Spartacus) with a different introduction by Camatte. Russia and Revolution in Marxist Theory itself was finally published by Spartacus in 1978.
    http://libcom.org/library/community-...acques-camatte

    I think that you would be most likely to find the texts refered to in Italian, French, or even Spanish than English.

    Devrim
  4. black magick hustla
    black magick hustla
    I can understand French and Spanish.

    What the fuck, did the International Communist Party claim the copyrights of Bordiga? What a bunch of asshats. Communists don't care about "copyrights" if there is no profit involved--especially of theoretical works
  5. Devrim
    Devrim
    Yes, I agree.
    Devrim
  6. black magick hustla
    black magick hustla
    Ok I read the first prologue, and the quotes of Bordiga were interesting but sometimes not convincing.

    He argues something about the state-capitalist bureacracy not exactly being a "bourgeosie" in the common sense of the word, but that it is instead a network of speculators and buisnessmen forming capitalist-imperialist alliances with other countries, like the US.

    This does makes sense looking at the geopolitical nature of the USSR.

    He also argued about capital not needing "capitalists", because apparently marx argued that once the "machine" was set going, it gets a life of itself. It also argued that because of the international nature of capital, there doesnt needs to be a "statistically" identifiable group of national bourgeoisie etc. Simply, a mode of production is defined by the way it reproduces itself.

    I dont know. I may elaborate later but the argument seems very esoteric.
  7. Leo
    Leo
    Is there any document where he extensively writes about the capitalistic nature of the USSR?
    In English, I'd say read "The Doctrine of the Body Possessed by the Devil". http://www.sinistra.net/lib/bas/batt...ekeogezue.html

    If you read Italian, this is his most major work on Russian economy: http://www.sinistra.net/lib/bas/progra/stru/index.html
  8. beltov
    beltov
    Hi,

    The Gauche Communiste de France (GCF) also wrote an excellent article on the nature of Stalinist Russia, which you may find relevant:

    The Russian experience: Private property and collective property
    http://en.internationalism.org/ir/13...ian-experience

    Why the specific interest in Bordiga's position on the USSR? There were several analyses around at the time (1940s) but we think the GCF's gave the best framework on which to develop an understanding of the general tendency towards state capitalism, of which Stalinist Russia was just one form.

    B.
  9. Cryotank Screams
    Cryotank Screams
    Is there any document where he extensively writes about the capitalistic nature of the USSR?
    While I haven't read much of Bordiga's work on the economics of the USSR, Castoriadis wrote a lot about the 'capitalistic nature of the USSR' so you should give him a look as well as Bordiga.