back to basics: capitalism and socialism

Smith and Austin are right -- some folks here ought to become familiar with
world-systems perspectives, and the now old debate about the role of
socialist states/institutionalized anti-systemic/national independence
movements within a capitalist world-economy.

More fundamentally, there's no such thing as "international trade" or
"national economies" except as a political mediation or measurement of the
world-economy.  States are not independent systems or economies with their
own paths of development!  (How boring the argument seems now).

Socialist states are part of the capitalist world-economy and, like any
other effort by states to catch up to the core, the structure of
stratification within the economy remains the same as it has for about 500
years or so (or longer according to some who maintain that the system is
older): 20% get 80% and vice-versa.  The degree of inequality within any
state is largely determined politically, hinging on the strength of workers
in that state.  It isn't determined according to the extent of so-called
international trade.

elson, phd
graduate of binghamton