[A-List] GP entrails [In defense of Harrington/Summary

[Waistline2 at aol.com]

^^^
CB: No, the main concepts of  _imperialism_ are even more applicable today 
than in Lenin's day. The  concentration of wealth is greater than 1916. The 
finance capital sector  dominates the industrial sector more than then. The 
parisitic financial sector  has almost killed some of its main hosts in the 
industrial sector.  That's  a change from Lenin's analysis. There is more of a merger 
of finance and  industrial capital. The former has devoured the latter.

Comment  

I. Speculative capital now dominates financial-industrial capital and  
financial imperialism. There is no such thing existing today called industrial  
imperialism. 
 
Although speculation has remote roots, speculative capital as dominator of  
finance capital, writing the economic and political agenda is relatively  new. 
Actually, speculative capital could not dominate financial-industrial  capital 
without a new technological regime in the form of the modern  communications 
infrastructure that allows for the flow of trillion of dollars  daily through 
the new financial architecture on the one hand, and renders labor  
increasingly superfluous to the production of commodities on the other hand. To  speak of 
labor being rendered superfluous is not absurd at all. Words has  meaning and 
there is the meaning of rendering labor superfluous. The new  technology is 
destroying the value relations before our very eyes, and compels  capital to 
seek out profit outside the production of commodities or as it  is said by the 
economic, to seek profit in notional  value.   
 
Some of the elements of this discussion are;
 
1. Capital - merchant and manufacturing. 
2. Industrial capital
3. Finance capital
4. industrial-finance capital: the domination of industrial capital over  the 
banks. 
5. Financial industrial capital: the domination of finance capital over  
industrial capital 
6. Speculative capital as dominator of the world total capital. 
 
This issue is not "more of a merger of finance and industrial capital."  
There is no such thing today as a distinct sector of capital with or without a  
political life, that is not totally dominated by finance capital or a  thing 
called industrial capital. Having a factory today does not mean  industrial 
capital as a sector of capital. Cerberus ownership of Chrysler and  51% of General 
Motors is not the further fusion of finance capital with  industrial capital 
but the domination and ownership of speculative capital over  industrial 
production. General Motors is not today a form of industrial capital,  simply 
because they makes cars!!!  General Motors is not in business today  because it 
makes cars. It is in business because of finance or GMAC, its  financial arm. 
General Motors makes $143 off of each car, but the real money is  made in 
financing. 
 
At some point we have to introduce reality - data and facts, into the  
discussion. GM makes $143 off of selling a vehicle in the American market. GMAC  and 
outfits like GE like and die off of financing. 
 
To speak of speculative capital is to speak of a financial-industrial  
capital by definition. The reason why is because speculative capital is a sector  of 
finance capital with finance capital long ago dominating industrial capital.  
To speak of finance capital is to speak of monopoly. What we face today is 
not  monopolist but speculators who dominate capital and write the political 
program  for capital. The call to fight "the monopolist" harkens back to the 
Populist  movement, which was clearly a movement of the petty bourgeoisie. 
 
Finance capital and financial imperialism in America emerge 50 years before  
Lenin wrote "Imperialism." Financial capitalism in America came to dominate  
industry and all of our society as the result of financing the Civil War which  
cost $3 billion on the part of the Federal government. American financial  
imperialism arose through and on the basis of the Civil War. Financing the war  
meant financing industrial expansion and literally American financial  
imperialism creating the monopolies.  
 
Perhaps, a summary - primer, is need on this matter. 
 
Waistline 
**************New year...new news.  Be the first to know what is making 
headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)