tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post5637991837571946736..comments2024-01-24T05:45:35.322-05:00Comments on imagining history: exploring the causal link between labor institutions and productivityDaniel MacDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07546752099879983120noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-46734275934486828792009-09-24T14:10:44.952-04:002009-09-24T14:10:44.952-04:00What is interesting here though Dan, especially co...What is interesting here though Dan, especially considering the topic of your study group, is the relationship between hegemonic modes of production and revolutionary changes in the political economy. For instance if we look at the political landscape during the period that you are talking about. We have all sorts of things going on on the fringes of what was hegemonic in the North and South. <br /><br />In the North we see Abolitionists organizing against slavery and racist policies being enacted such as the fugitive slave act. In the South there are scores of slave uprisings and other modes of resistance. The Abolitionists in the North, from the Garrisons, Douglas, other Black Nationalist churches and civic organizations that are turning inward racially in order to solve the "Negro Question", are varying on their degree of resentment to the entire Union to a sole focus on slavery; they were all nonetheless on the fringes of the political landscape trying to have their ideology transform the hegemonic order of the day. The transformation of the Southern economy from plantation based to still pretty much plantation based economy that slowly transformed into a more bourgeois economy had changes in modes of production that effected GDP that you pointed out. <br /><br />However, I'm just thinking out loud here in terms of your study group and how social transformations effect the political economy. What does this mean for today. We have the hegemony of global capitalism that seems to be in some sort of crisis. Then we have the political landscape of modern America. We have a sort of radical right fringe that is becoming more and more militant , the Minutemen patroling the southwest border, increased recruitment into white supremacist organizations. <br /><br />Then there is also a more vocal radical right making their way into the mainstream with these sort of tea bag parties and town hall meetings. I think part of the tea bag parties grievances against big government are legitimate in a sense. Also a lot of it is working class people who are sick of ideological liberals and their culturally superior attitude toward the south or everyday working class alleged apolitical peoples. But probably the most notable aspect of the teabag parties is pissed off white people at Obama because a Black man is taking away their liberties. This racist reaction I think is related to a declining significance in white privilege in the US. This is not to say that the US is post racial, but it is to say that over the past 15 years or so we have seen a lot of changes in the racial dynamics of US society that are going to impact the landscape of political organizing. I'm going to stop here but I think this is the central question that Marxists should be dealing with today and always. What does the political landscape look like, where is capitalism most vulnerable, how is the working class organizing against capital, where do these movements have revolutionary potential, if there are reactionary or fascist elements how do we take these threats seriously while still keeping a strategic focus upon destroying capital? Guess I went way off topic here.Slamoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991685818060521019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-71175449105141265222009-09-24T11:14:53.151-04:002009-09-24T11:14:53.151-04:00Shaun,
I apologize for taking so long to get back...Shaun,<br /><br />I apologize for taking so long to get back to you regarding your very interesting questions. <br /><br />First, by "homogeneous labor institutions" I mean a relatively standard contractual relationship defining the social relations of production. In the South prior to the Civil War this means slavery as a standard way of organizing agricultural production. In the North, this means the wide presence of "free" wage labor: workers are able to move from employer to employer, but they work for these employers for a wage, they no longer own the means of production, etc.<br /><br />Second, your thoughts regarding whether there are more productive ways of organizing work are well taken. Perhaps I do go too far in the end by asserting that capitalism is the "mother of all systems of production", when I really only wanted to make the point that relative to slavery, capitalism generates faster and higher growth. I do think the evidence on the productivity of socialist and cooperative modes of production is convincing, so I agree with your central concern here.<br /><br />Thanks again for the post and I apologize again for the belated response~!Daniel MacDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546752099879983120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-15272461952520183842009-09-18T01:15:00.610-04:002009-09-18T01:15:00.610-04:00Dan,
This is a really interesting post so I must...Dan, <br /><br />This is a really interesting post so I must apologize ahead of time for my unenlightened comment. I have been recently trying to revisit the concept of hegemony by rereading some stuff by Laclau, Gramsci, and Butler. What exactly do you mean by homogeneous institutions when you are comparing and contrasting economic growth in a plantation oriented economy and bourgeois economy? And I'm curious if I'm just reading into your conclusion too much and not focusing enough upon how your argument is relating to economic growth, but does a capitalist actually achieve the position of harnessing the full productive capacity of the proletariat, or does it organize it in a particular fashion in order to maximize profits given its constraints. I'm just thinking of the way workers slack off, malinger, steal, or sabotage the work place, other ways workers demonstrate examples of unorganized resistance. Or do work places where workers have greater control of the work place, and collectively share in the fruits of their labor, have a better productive capacity in the sense of the labor power workers perform and the way the means of production are organized. Let me know if I'm not being clear. You have an awesome blog by the way man!!! Most of it is over my head though.Slamoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991685818060521019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-66229630509887031942009-09-10T18:39:27.985-04:002009-09-10T18:39:27.985-04:00I've never come across a case like that. It...I've never come across a case like that. It's a really good question. I'll look it up and get back to you... thanks man!Daniel MacDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546752099879983120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-43479237215761406542009-09-10T16:15:51.201-04:002009-09-10T16:15:51.201-04:00So a question...I am somewhat familiar with indent...So a question...I am somewhat familiar with indentured labor as a concept but.. If a worker leaves and breaks his contract what was the legal status? For instance if I was working for someone in exchange for room and board and learning to be a blacksmith, I decide to leave half way through a contract do I owe the person for the room and board that they have provided for the first half of the contract does work performed count as payment? What I am asking is does breaking a contract make me liable for benefits already received under American law?James Miehlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01261174841136456316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-57655827298451409612009-09-08T13:42:05.681-04:002009-09-08T13:42:05.681-04:00wbwbjoseph göner-rebellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966239737843409047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291522678539500772.post-85056726430777023252009-09-07T14:55:01.049-04:002009-09-07T14:55:01.049-04:00By the way, just wanted to say it's great to b...By the way, just wanted to say it's great to be back after a week of stressed preparation for the second of my two comps :)Daniel MacDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546752099879983120noreply@blogger.com