Subject: Re: HAB: Left in division (does Habermas have a solution?)
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:18:30 



Rafe

Thanks for your questioning of my formulations posted earlier.

I will try to answer your questions briefly.

1) The concentration of power in capitalist society is manifested primarily 
in the hegemony of capitalist rationality. This hegemony structures the web 
of relations that constitute a society. This structuring of relations work 
both at the level of acuumulation of men politico social system) as well as 
at the level of the accumulation of wealth (economic system). The regime of 
the accumulation of men
consists of three subsystems:

a) capitalist subjectivisation regime: concerned with the production and 
reproduction and sustenance of capitalist subjectivity, a subjectivity which 
considers the pursuance of accumulation for the sake of accumulation as 
rational. A universal and uniformed system of primary and secondary 
education is very important in producing and reproducing such a 
subjectivity, beside other well known means. Capitalist system as a whole 
and its system of production of wealth requires constant production and 
reproduction of a subjectivity that  at the same time can maximise its 
utility and remain 'docile' that is the production and reproduction of a 
'useful' and manageable subjectivity in the sense that 'utility' may 
ultimately converge only to a single purpose of the accumulation for the 
sake of accumulation.

b)Capitalist Truth regime: production and reproduction of capitalist truth 
in general sense. Universities, research institutes, media etc play a 
crucial role in that.

c) Capitalitst governance regime, in the limited sense of stae as the 
ensemble of coercive and administrative institutions as well as in the 
broader sense of state that include the whole power relations rooted in the 
social network system. While state in the limited sense of the word 
corresponds to our normal use of the word government, while the state in the 
broader sense of the word corresponds to the broader sense of the government 
to include both the government of individiual and the government of 
population. In this broader sense state is the condition of the formation 
and development of capitalism and can be termed as capitalist state.

2) So I am not just talking about the power of central governments, but also 
talking about the power of capitalist state in this broader sense. The 
concentration of power in a capitalist system go hand in hand with its 
dispersion and takes place at several level, and have shifting loci 
according to different stages of capitalist development and their 
requirement. Thus though the central governments and industries both are the 
locus of power, in times of crisis the power becomes more concentrated in 
central governments as compared to times of relative normalcy. The 
concentration of power in a particular industries or particular arenas of 
accumulation also depends on the stage of development in which the 
capitalist system is. Thus in today's world the power is more concentrated 
in the arenas of physical production than financial centers for example. The 
power of international bankers, and speculators, is far more in today's 
world than that of industry in the traditional sense. Thus I would say that 
it is a complex web of
concentration and dispersal which is hold together in the last instance by 
the hegemony of governmental rationality in general and the concrete power 
and grip of governments in the limited sense over increasing sphere of 
individual and social existence.

3)I can not say what sort of alternative power I do envisage, because the 
alternative power would emerge out of concrete struggles and not through 
prior articulations, and as they keep emerging it can be articulated and 
rearticulated in general terms. The problem with the approach you suggest is 
that it ignores the totalising (not necessarily totalitarian though) nature 
of capital. As I indicated in my other posts
earlier, capital can not help being absolute. It must engulf everything 
under its tutelege or else lose its grip altogether.

4) It is great if people are shunning accumulation as the drive of their 
life. However I would say it is not enough. Without overthrowing apital and 
its power i.e. without ultimately defeating capitalist rationality and its 
hegemony we can not create a space for an alternative way of life. 
Capitalism can live with such people up till they do not challange its 
hegemony (do not become potential challenge to it), the hegemony of TINA. 
And effective challenge can not be posed without concentrating a counter 
power, that can overthrow the power of capital. Once they try do this they 
are in trouble.

5)The concentration of power in industrial society is something so 
widespread that it sometimes evades our attention. We do not see often what 
is nearest to us. It is the only system in the the history which has imposed 
a uniformed generic education system which no one can possibly espcape 
without becoming a pauper, a useless entity. Can
you even think of making limited changes in your house's structure without 
seeking the permission of your council? Can industry keep running without 
this education system which is necessarily supported by governments?

6) By conservativism I mean any idea which seeks compatibility with the 
existing system.


hope some of it make sense.

best regards
ali
>But Jesus is not enough! We need Marx, because Marx draws our attention to
 > the phenomenon of state and power in capitalism. The capitalist system,
more
 > than any known system in history (may be with the exception of Gupta
India),
 > has concentrated power to such a formidable extent that to defeat it a
 > parallel concentration of counter power is needed, without that, one can
not
 > imagine to overcome capitalism and its ruthless hegemony through mere
 > moralisation.

I have some problems with this description of capitalism. Where is the
concentration of power under this system? Are you talking about the power of
the central governments in those western countries which we generally regard
as "capitalist" or perhaps "democratic capitalist"?  Are you talking about
the power of particular large industries? How is this power manifest?  What
sort of counter-power do you envisage? What about an alternative approach,
to limit and control concentrations of power rather than trying to match
them by  countervailing forces?

 > In this sense I conceive myself as both leftist and rightist. I want to 
be
 > left of Marx and right of Jesus!
 >
 > Having said that, I would like to problematise the conception of 
pluralism
 > itself. I find it to be the heart of the logic of (especially) late
 > capitalism. Capitalism consists of worst and most ruthless kind of
 > singularity (i.e that singularity of accumulation for the sake of
 > accumulation)  but its logic needs this singularity to emerge out of ever
 > growing diversity. Due to this dual demand of its logic capitalism
actually
 > requires management of everything, control of each moment of and each
 > stratum of the life of society and individuals.

It seems to me that people are increasingly giving up on accumulation for
the sake of accumulation. It is not a large movement yet, but we see
middle-aged people who decide that they have accumulated enough and so they
opt for a different lifestyle, perhaps in the country, perhaps not, but in
any case a lifestyle that they find enriching in other ways than wealth or
things.

As for control over everything, I can see the governments of the US and the
European Community moving in that direction, but that does not strike me as
any kind of imperative of the business or industrial estate. This usage of
the term capitalism seems to conflate the political apparatus with the
productive domain.

 > Now I am not sure what role Habermas can play in this context. Over the
 > years, I have sadly watched, his drift towards conservatism.

It would help to know the meaning that you are attaching to conservatism in
this context.

Rafe Champion




      --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---




_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com



     --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---