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From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Capitalist production
Message-ID: <1473@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Mar-85 18:56:54 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.1473
Posted: Wed Mar 20 18:56:54 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 20-Mar-85 20:15:47 EST
References: <370@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP> <5252@utzoo.UUCP> <topaz.1005>
Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 28
Summary: 


>The worker is not utterly secure (who is?) but considerably more
>so than the capitalist.  The workers of this country make an order
>of magnitude more, in sum, than the capitalists.  If they wanted,
>they could just buy them out.  Why don't they?  They are, simply,
>comfortable.  Sure, they want more.  Everybody always wants more.
>Those who want it enough to pass up the beer and football games
>are able to succeed here more than anywhere else in the world;
>when they do, they are called -- capitalists.
>
>--JoSH

If you subtract living costs up to, say, 150% of the poverty level,
do the workers still make an order of magnitude more than the
capitalists?  If they do, do they have the coherent organization
that would enable them to become effective capitalists (remember,
that means centralization of control).  I suspect that many of those
who DO have a little left over after staying alive ARE capitalists,
in that they may own a little stock, or have a pension plan that
invests for them.

It's a bit smug to say workers aren't capitalists because they are
comfortable, and prefer another beer to owning factories.
-- 

Martin Taylor
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