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.
> ==============================================================
>
>
|