Re: the Frank challenge (fwd)

Boris, you put forward an interesting dilemma, but i do *not* think that
this dilemma "actually" exist in marxism..

isn't Marx's discussion on "commodity fetishism" an excellent example as
to why we "see" the world divided between "subjective" and "objective"?

Mine

>An interesting dilemma:

>Either Frank is right and "capitalism" is an ideological construct, or
>else he is wrong, capitalism exists, and it is "historical materialism"
>which turns out to be an ideological approach to writing world history.  
>Either way, the notion that one can characterize distinct world-systems
>on
>the basis production, exchange or even accumulation appears to be trapped
>between Scylla and Charybdis.  

>On Sat, 29 Jan 2000, g kohler wrote:

>> with reference to the posting of 25 Jan 2000 by Professor Frank,
entitled
> >"Gunder Frank's Response to Gang of 3 Reviews of ReOrient"
> 
>> the last paragraph, entitled "The Bottom Line" contains the statement:
"None
>> of the three is willing to contemplate or even examine the evidence
that the
>> theoretical concept -- indeed terminology -- of "capitalism" may be an
>> ideological construct that is out of synch with world historical
reality."
> 
>> This kind of iconoclasm appeals to my taste buds and I have two
questions
>> arising:
>> (1) does this mean that the category of "capitalism" has the
epistemological
>> status of an "ideal type" a la Weber?
>> (2) if the category of "capitalism" is out of synch with reality, as
Frank
>> says, how can the left define (positively) what it is for and
(negatively)
>> what it is against? If Frank is right, then it would seem that "the
left"
>> would have a major task at its hands with respect to redefining itself
--
>> not only "reorient" the world-system, but also "reorient" itself (the
left),
>> given the fact that "capitalism" is traditionally a major component of
the
> >self-definition of the left (in an antithetical way).
> 
> >Gert Kohler
> >Oakville, Canada
> 
> 

-- 
>Boris Stremlin
>bc70219@binghamton.edu