Globalisation or Disinformation ?
Orion Noir | 27.07.2001 13:22
Not wishing to bother IMC with polemics at a difficult time, I never the less feel the whole question of 'Globalisation theory' needs more scrutiny
Particularly when, post-Gothenburg and Genoa, protesting against it is so very dangerous and some groupings are still hiding behind the cloak of 'peace'. When you start to challenge the state successfully, it may count for nothing.
Looking at 'Globalize Resistance' and its shadow sponsor, the SWP, my immediate thought was "What on earth has this got to do with Marx, still less, Trotsky's theory of "Permanent Revolution ?" Globalization is one thing, but Marxist texts are absolutely insistent that no such thing exists...
For example, take your copy of Marx's Manifesto of 1848, go right to the end, and check the slogan. It should read "Workers of ALL COUNTRIES unite!', NOT, despite a common misperception, 'Workers of THE WORLD unite' . Pedantic it may seem, but this was deliberate. Even in Marx's day, the original communists were very wary about "Universalism", considering it to be a utopia; the capitalists and other rulers had divided up the world according to empires and nations, and that would have be the stage on which the workers would fight it. "Any man may make history but never according to circumstances of his own choosing" was how he put it.
Has anything changed since ? Not as much as we might think. Marx wrote at some length about the way capitalist companies were inflicting all kinds of indignities on the less developed world (East India Co, Kowloon Co, &C) but, he noted that they could do very little to impose themselves on China, India &c without the support of the Empire's gunboats. Look at NATO today, compare to see which countires are about to join the EU and you may see a similarity. We must recognise that the collapse of the unpleasant USSR has released capitalism off the leash, but it remains at the call of the USA, UK and EU. We should be opposing any call for a collapse of the equally unpleasant regime in China, lest the world situation deterioate still further. The SWP vehemently condemns China, something Trotsky would never have done...
It is not 'disinformation' to challenge the notion of globalization; far from it, we must clarify precsiely what we are opposing, (partly for our own safety), and start to sketch out what we want to see in place. The term 'neo- capitalism' does at least encapsulate the sense that while the current world situation has some unique features, it remains capitalism all the same.
Just some thoughts.
Wishing Marcus a speedy recovery
Orion Noir
Looking at 'Globalize Resistance' and its shadow sponsor, the SWP, my immediate thought was "What on earth has this got to do with Marx, still less, Trotsky's theory of "Permanent Revolution ?" Globalization is one thing, but Marxist texts are absolutely insistent that no such thing exists...
For example, take your copy of Marx's Manifesto of 1848, go right to the end, and check the slogan. It should read "Workers of ALL COUNTRIES unite!', NOT, despite a common misperception, 'Workers of THE WORLD unite' . Pedantic it may seem, but this was deliberate. Even in Marx's day, the original communists were very wary about "Universalism", considering it to be a utopia; the capitalists and other rulers had divided up the world according to empires and nations, and that would have be the stage on which the workers would fight it. "Any man may make history but never according to circumstances of his own choosing" was how he put it.
Has anything changed since ? Not as much as we might think. Marx wrote at some length about the way capitalist companies were inflicting all kinds of indignities on the less developed world (East India Co, Kowloon Co, &C) but, he noted that they could do very little to impose themselves on China, India &c without the support of the Empire's gunboats. Look at NATO today, compare to see which countires are about to join the EU and you may see a similarity. We must recognise that the collapse of the unpleasant USSR has released capitalism off the leash, but it remains at the call of the USA, UK and EU. We should be opposing any call for a collapse of the equally unpleasant regime in China, lest the world situation deterioate still further. The SWP vehemently condemns China, something Trotsky would never have done...
It is not 'disinformation' to challenge the notion of globalization; far from it, we must clarify precsiely what we are opposing, (partly for our own safety), and start to sketch out what we want to see in place. The term 'neo- capitalism' does at least encapsulate the sense that while the current world situation has some unique features, it remains capitalism all the same.
Just some thoughts.
Wishing Marcus a speedy recovery
Orion Noir
Orion Noir
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