capitalism

The wages system

Nate Hawthorne and Matt Kelly on the wage system in capitalism.

We talked in our last column about the slogan “A fair day’s wages for a fair day’s work.” In capitalism, we can’t get many things we need unless we have money.

Negative and positive visions, full communism, and boats

Submitted by Operaista on Jul 13 2012 01:56

A piece on future visions of communism and whether 'blueprints' are beneficial.

I was struck by a thought of "wow, there's more to this running joke we've got going then I or anyone else originally intended" while reading a bit of Harry Cleaver's Reading Capital Politically last evening. I've been making an in-depth study of it, as, like every other Marxist under the sun, in between reading other things, I'm re-reading Capital, Vol 1. So, the relevant quote (on p.

Another World - Michelle Kuo talks with David Graeber

David Graeber talks with the Editor-in-Chief of Artforum about philosophy, totalities, insurrectionism, baseline communism, and his book Debt.

MICHELLE KUO: Many artists and critics have been reading your work on everything from the long history of debt, to anarchism, to culture as “creative refusal.” That interest seems to be a reflection of how the art world, at this moment, sees itself in parallel to politics and economics.

Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit - David Graeber

David Graeber discusses technological advancement, capitalism and bureaucratic culture.

A secret question hovers over us, a sense of disappointment, a broken promise we were given as children about what our adult world was supposed to be like.

The use of free time

A 1960 text from the Situationist International on leisure time in capitalist society.

The most superficial and constantly reiterated platitude of leftish sociologists during recent years is that leisure has become a major factor in advanced capitalist society.

Insurrectionary Practice and Capitalist Transformation

A discussion between The Batko Group and Sasha K, 2005

This conversation began as an attempt from our side to fill in some of the blanks that the other texts in this issue of Dissident doesn’t cover completely, and to exchange ideas with one of the editors of Killing King Abacus1, which was a prominent journal of modern insurrectionary anarchism—Sasha K.

Five simple reasons to abolish capitalism

Submitted by Chilli Sauce on May 25 2012 18:41

This is not going to be theoretical. There’ll be no discussion of the alienation of labor or the theory of surplus value. I won’t even be focusing on the big reasons like not having a boss or the three hour workday. Instead, I’m just going to list five day-to-day changes that that I’m pretty damn sure will happen once the flood of communism comes to atone for the sins of capital.

(1) One size Tupperware lids. Being the cheap bastard that I am, every time I get takeaway I keep the plastic container. The only problem is that although they look like the same size, either the corners or just a bit too rounded or the sides are just a bit too long.

Workers of the world unite! - Some notes on class unity and identity politics

Submitted by Joseph Kay on May 18 2012 18:30

There's been several articles posted lately critical of identity politics from a class struggle perspective. This blog addresses some of the pitfalls of the class unity v identity politics debate.

I've been meaning to write something on this for a long time, but I've hesitated as class struggle critiques of identity politics are often clumsy and serve to gloss over very real oppressions and violence.

Wars and Capitalism

Russian anarchist, Peter Kropotkin writes of the part capitalism and industry plays in starting wars between two governments.

The separation of the economic and the political in capitalism - Ellen Meiskins Wood

The separation of the economic and the political in capitalism

Ellen Meiskins Wood analyses the extent to which capitalism can be separated into political (state) and economic (market) spheres.

The intention of Marxism is to provide a theoretical foundation for interpreting the world in order to change it. This is not an empty slogan. It has—or ought to have—a very precise meaning.