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>From: Andrew Wayne Austin <aaustin@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>
>constant cheerleading for the capitalist regime, passing off ideology as
>having some scientific validity, frees me from wasting my time seriously
I want to toss some water on this "flame" before it spreads.
Andy,
Read social transformation carefully, and you will not find any
cheerleading for capitalism. Rather, a grudging assessment that it has
promoted more change than anyther social system, and is the first thing
to come along in 10k years to reverse the steady if sporadic trend toward
increasing inequality. [Of course there is the standard WST critique
here, within societies or across societies--in latter, W-S perspective,
the trend is continuing apace--also well noted in ST].
Re former USSR: Yes it did more "catchup" than any other country. But
also yes it was at its collapse still well behind in QOL the west. Again
the std WST critique, from my frequent co-author, Chris C-D, that is was
part of a larger system that sought to contain, if not destroy it.
QoL in USSR/Russia is a redherring [sorry about the atrocious pun]
regarding Marx and capitalism. The old saw about Christianity &
socialism applies: good ideas, too bad nobody ever tried them. [Again
the WST critique: you can't try them in only one country embedded in
capitalist world-system].
Chris and I tried to argue in the end of Rise & Demise that we need to
think of MANY alternatives for future world-systems and get out of the
socialism a la Marx vs Capitalism a la A. Smith and think of
alternatives, c, d, e, f, etc.
You may want to look at Dan Chirot's Social Change in the 20th Century
[precursor of Social Change in the Modern Era]. He argues, persuasively,
that USSR did begin to catch up to the west up through the time he wrote it
[pub 1977] more than other strategies, but it did not catch up completely.
Hence, Andy is right, USSR did 'progress/improve'; but equally Steve is
right, to call it same or better than west on Physical Quality of Life is
ludicrous. Both right, but neither settling whither the future?
For the record, Steve is more pessimistic about the future than I am, and
Chris more optomistic, but we all three hold considerable trepidation
about our ecological future. One reads Meadows et al's _Beyond the
Limits_ and finishes hoping that their methodology is somehow
fundamentally flawed.
'nuff of my blather. My BIG point is that there is room for disagreement
on the data and its interpretation without sliding into character
assassination.
tom
Thomas D. [tom] Hall
thall@depauw.edu
Department of Sociology
DePauw University
100 Center Street
Greencastle, IN 46135
765-658-4519
HOME PAGE:
http://www.depauw.edu/~thall/hp1.htm