[Marxism] Mumia Abu-Jamal:

[Walter Lippmann]

1-Of course, credit is necessary for a modern economy. Virtually
all international commerce today is based on credit, and many of
us individually use credit cards when we purchase simple things
like food, clothing, and gasoline. We pay interest to be able to
do that. Houses, automobiles and other more heftily-priced items
even more require credit for individuals who may not have enough
savings to pay for such things out of cash on hand.

2-Nationalizing the banks means that the government would take
responsibility for who gets credit and on what terms they get it.
These would then become political decisions, if governments made
the decisions. It's hard to predict what would happen in an
exact or precise manner, in advance. Surely the bank owners and
the other capitalists who think that these things should be the
private decisions that only they are allowed to make, won't be
happy. They will mobilize the entire capitalist media against
such ideas. But they've had some difficulty now, as people are
perhaps less stupid than they've been assumed to be, and even
the very ill-informed and mostly dis-informed people of the 
United States can see that when the rich want something, they
are in a position to take center stage in demanding that their
demands be met.

Unfortunately, the working class in the United States accepts
the idea that capitalism, private property, private ownership,
and private everything are the norms for society. Socialist 
and Marxists tendencies are relatively modest in size and in
influence in the United States, for a raft of reasons, and so
it remains to be seen if such concepts as nationalization will
generate much political force. For the moment, such simple a
notion as a moratorium on home foreclosures seems to be one
way to advance in that direction.


Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California
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RUTHLESS posed these questions:
The question is this:

(1) Is the statement "a modern economy can't function when people
can't easily get credit" true?

(2) If it is true, then "nationalizing the banks" (your solution)
seems to be intended to restore the flow of credit through the
nationalized banks. But, bank nationalization will probably
immediately lead to a stock market fal (panicky investors selling off
thinking that their company might be nationalized next)l, leading to a
severe recession.

Incidentally, bank nationalization  is something that Britain seems to
be doing (for this one bank, at least),  Not sure if that is helping
matters in Britain.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Britain's government will nationalise
troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley and is discussing the sale
of its savings book and branches, people familiar with the matter
said.


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     WALTER LIPPMANN
     Los Angeles, California
     Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
     "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
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