Perhaps there is not capitalism, but there is something we commonly
call capitalism that is based on the private ownership of commodities
and the means of production.  As I flail away at the branches of suffering
and murder I can easily trace the misery to its source.  Yet it is the
branches I attack.
        The CEO of a TNC may not personally desire mass murder and torture.  By
putting her/his energy in to the accumulation of profit, that is the net
result..  - LL

C. G. Estabrook sends:
>Chomsky, 2/26/98:
>
>       Suppose we focus on "the root of the problem," not the suffering
>       and travail of innumerable human beings here and abroad, and what
>       we might try to do about it. They'll really thank us, while we are
>       contemplating our navels.
>       There is no such thing as "the root of the problem." There are
>       lots of problems, and lots of roots. "The root of the problem"
>       can't be "capitalism," because nothing remotely resembling that
>       exists, as the CATO Institute will be happy to explain
>       (correctly). Nor could it exist (as they won't explain). We can
>       say, if we like, that "the root of the problem" is the
>       socioeconomic system, or the structure of illegitimate power, or
>       other formulas, and we can even sketch these out with more or less
>       perception. But for people who live in this world, and want to do
>       something useful in this world, such abstract analyses do not
>       suffice unless they lead to concrete action, and that brings us
>       back where we were: in the present case, what do we do about the
>       fact that the US/UK are likely to bomb Iraq, that hundreds of
>       thousands of Iraqis are dying from sanctions (that do not affect,
>       perhaps even strengthen, Washington's old friend Saddam Hussein),
>       etc. More to the point, we can analyze the background of the
>       current crisis, so as better to understand what is at stake and
>       what we can do. There's also nothing wrong with investigating "the
>       root of the problem." Last night I gave a talk to an huge audience
>       at MIT on "corporations and democracy," which gets closer to the
>       root of the problem, and indeed has implications for just about
>       every current crisis. But isn't it the case that we really know
>       all this already?
>       To say that the current crisis is "perpetuated by
>       Trans-National-Corporations" is, in my opinion, false. It is true
>       that in the background lie questions of state capitalist power
>       about control over Middle East oil reserves, but I'd be willing to
>       wager that the CEOs of TNCs are more opposed to the use of force
>       in this case than liberal congressmen/women and journalists. In
>       fact, some of the most sensible reactions have come from the far
>       right, even the "Wall Street Journal." Formulas for any occasion
>       are easy, but should be regarded with caution.
>        ==============================================================
>
>