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re: Reading Marx
ER — (archived)

Marx's theory of labor, surplus value, the very concept of capital itself, and other purely economic concepts I found very insightful. It's amazing how much he predicted, including the "predatory government" preying on capitalists through over-taxatiion and regulation that you brought up a few weeks ago. TB's libertarian crisis was predicted by Karl Marx, what a hoot!

Marx failed totally at coming up with a viable program to implement Communism, that was one of the great tragedies of history. His cyclic theory of history has some value, but I believe it only works in hindsight, it certainly failed when applied to the future. All the Hegelian and Engelian philosophy, the thesis/synthesis idea, is sort of a mixture of the obvious and the unprovable. The concept of class struggle is essential to understand the dynamic between politics and economics and culture, but it is starting to wear a little thin these days. Marx simply couldn't have anticipated the social mobility which exists today. Neither could he have foreseen how much his own work would influence the modification of capitalism and its consequent ability to survive the very crises Marx predicted for it.

Which brings up a thought for the future. Right or wrong, Marxism presented an alternative to capitalism, it's very presence provoked reform in capitalism and helped install the social legislation that gradually softened and channelled its impact. Capitalism had to compete with Communism and it won the competition, hands down! With no Marxist government, even in name today, the pressure will be great to turn capitalism back to its old ways. It doesn't have to compete any more, does it? And we know what happens when businessmen have a monopoly.

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