And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint… And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what […]
Two Key Sentences
Understand these two key sentences from Karl Marx and you will understand the end of capitalism. Of course, I am not trying to say you could possibly understand everything Marx had to say about the end of capitalism by studying only these two sentences. Sometimes it seems one could study Marx for a lifetime and barely scratch the […]
Friedrich Engels on Historical Materialism
The following is excerpted from Friedrich Engels’s essay, Socialism, Utopian and Scientific (1880). The full text can be found on the marxist.org website from which this excerpt was copied. III HISTORICAL MATERIALISM The materialist conception of history starts from the proposition that the production of the means to support human life and, next to production, […]
Universal Basic Income: Insight From Historical Materialism
The idea that government should provide every citizen with a basic income sufficient to sustain a decent standard of living, and that this provision should be given without constraint to work, is spreading like wildfire around the world, and is being taken very seriously by some very serious people.1 It is arguably the best solution to hand for addressing the […]
Universal Basic Income and the Politics of Production
This post was originally published on the criticallegalthinking.com website. Finally, someone else who understands that if basic income does not address the structural nature of capitalist class inequalities it is insufficient: Universal Basic Income and the Politics of Production by Scott Timcke • 25 April 2016 Of late there have been a growing number of people who […]
Welcome
The original intention of historical materialism was to provide a theoretical foundation for interpreting the world in order to change it. This was not an empty slogan. It had a very precise meaning. It meant that Marxism sought a particular kind of knowledge, uniquely capable of illuminating the principles of historical movement and, at […]
What Does “Post-Capitalist” Mean?
We cannot begin to explore the subject of post-capitalism without a clear, working definition of the word capitalism. Otherwise, how would we know that capitalism was ending? We cannot have a clear definition of capitalism unless we understand what makes the capitalist mode of production unique. So we must understand what a mode of production […]
Open Question for Advocates of a Universal Basic Income
This is an open question to any and all advocates of a basic income: By advancing the idea of a basic income are we seeking to enhance capitalism or supersede it? And, if we are content to preserve capitalism, how do we avoid inadvertently empowering a potentially dystopic plutocracy? I’m sure some readers will understand […]
Universal Basic Income: A Crucial Caveat
Note: If you are not familiar with the idea of a guaranteed basic income and how popular the idea is becoming please check out the website basicincome.org for an introduction. Universal basic income is a great idea — with one caveat. Ok, maybe two caveats, but my first concern seems to be pretty widely understood and […]
How Exactly Do Robots Destroy Capitalism?
The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society. This sentence, taken from The Communist Manifesto (1848), is an excellent starting point for understanding the end of the capitalist system. All of the following is packed within this one succinct sentence: The […]