The Furious Spinner

Did you know Karl Marx's favorite book was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? This is according to Francis Wheen who has written a biography of Marx and of Das Capital. Yes, a biography of a book. It's part of the books that changed the world series.

Wheen was on NPR talking about Das Kapital and Karl Marx. It was a fascinating discussion. (I think you can listen here.) Made me want to find out more about Marx and Das Capital. I studied the Soviet Union when I was younger, and their system of government was a complete failure (unless, of course, they were aiming to be totalitarian, and in that case, they were successful). I felt that Karl Marx, because of his Communist Manifesto, was one of the architects of that disaster.

I don't like communism, but I am not fond of capitalism either. I believe it is based on the exploitation of labor, which is what Marx believed, too. Capitalism eats its young—and everything else—in its constant search for new products and more markets. It destroys the environment. It destroys people. What kind of economic system do I think would work? Well, I'd have to study it more, but I think maybe a kind of Democratic socialism.

It's not surprising Marx turned again and again to Frankenstein for inspiration. Isn't Frankenstein's monster a great metaphor for capitalism? A thing created that then turns on its creator.

Most of us in this country think about the monetary value of...pretty much everything. Our labor has dollar signs all over it. Sometimes I imagine us all walking around with various dollar signs on us. Many of us think of ourselves as successes or failures based on our monetary worth. I think of my work, my writing, that way. My books are a success if (1) a publisher picks them up, (2) people buy copies of the book once it is published, and (3) readers like what they read. That's just the way it is. Think about it: If you went to work, worked hard, and then didn't get paid, what would you think about your work after a while? I'm not saying this is good or sane or "right thinking." I'm just that's the way it is.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't think I've written some good stuff that has never gotten published. But I'm trying to make a living with my writing which means I need to either get services, goods, or money in return for my work. If I don't, then I don't eat and I don't have a place to live. Although I hold my stories dear to me, I've always expected them to help me make a living. When I got sick and couldn't work a "regular" fulltime job any more, making a living with my writing became more imperative. (Which I've only ever done one year out of 27 years.) Thinking this way just seems realistic to me.

But then all I know is this capitalistic system. I know there is so much wrong with this system, but it's like swimming in a salt lake all your life. You don't want someone coming by and saying, "Can I take the salt out of the lake for you? You're turning into a prune." I'd shout, "No! The salt is the only thing that's keeping me afloat."

And if they said, "How about I take you out of the lake?"

Well, I wonder what that would be like.

Anyway, I've got to think about this more. It's the same question I ask myself again and again: How do we live in a square world if we're round people? How do we stay sane and be our true selves and bring beauty into the world while all around us appears insane? I often talk about my depression here at FS. Although depression causes me suffering, it is a logical reaction to what I see in the world. Is my vision off, or is what I see happening to our world real and difficult to bear? Sometimes it feels like all we can be are sunflowers in the garbage heap. I suppose that's better than being the garbage heap, but most of us want to clean up that garbage even though often it feels like all we can do is watch the sun go from here to there every day. Yet, it's not healthy to ignore what our roots are clinging to.

Capitalism is one of the culprits in the demise of our planet. And most of the time it just seems unstoppable. We're drowning in it.

I may just have to read Das Capital and see what Mr. Marx had to say about all this. Wheen said that many of the bigwigs on Wall Street have a copy of Das Capital on their bedside tables. Why? Because Karl Marx understood how capitalism works better than anyone else.

Labels: sustainability

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1 Comments:

Naomi Wolf wrote the book: The End of America: A letter of Warning To a Young Patriot. In it she outlines the ten steps consistently taken in the creation of the worst early 20th century dictatorships. The clock is ticking on our American Democracy. We have seen all 10 documented not once.but over and over in the past six years.

Since when have we, as Americans, tolerated paramilitary forces on our soil? Yet Blackwater has it's mercenaries not just in Iraq, but right here in the USA.

Your emails and cell phones are monitored,students merely standing at a podium set up to ask political candidates questions are run down and attacked with tazers for asking too many questions,and as a non-violent animal rights activist I am considered as a first class domestic terrorist.

Oh,and by the way... this whole big problem with illegal immigration over our borders? The need to tighten security? We may wake up one day to discover those "walls and fences"weren't really to keep illegal aliens out,but to keep us in. We need to start paying attention ...yesterday.

The ten steps

1.Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
2.Create secret prisons where torture takes place.
3.Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.
4.Set up an internal surveillance system.
5.Harass citizens' groups.
6.Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
7.Target key individuals.
8.Control the press.
9.Declare all dissent to be treason.
10.Suspend the rule of law

By  The, at 10:31 AM  

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