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John Bellamy Foster, "The Wall Street Journal Meets Karl Marx"

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TheWallStreetJournalMeetsKarlMarx
byJohnBellamyFoster
ManyreadingtheWallStreetJournalonMay13,2005,musthave
rubbedtheireyesindisbelief,lookedbackandthenrubbedthem
again.Afrontpagestoryheadlined"AsRichPoorGapWidensin
theU.S.,ClassMobilityStalls"informedthelargelybusiness
readershipofthatpaperthattheoldBenjaminFranklinHoratio
AlgermythoftheUnitedStatesasacountryofinfinitesocial
mobilityhadbeenprovenwrong.Souniversalhasthisfalseviewof
theUnitedStatesbeen,theWallStreetJournalclaimed,that"even
KarlMarxacceptedtheimageofAmericaasalandofboundless
opportunity....'Thepositionofwagelaborer,'hewrotein1865,'is
foraverylargepartoftheAmericanpeoplebutaprobationalstate,
whichtheyaresuretoleavewithinalongerorshorterterm.'"
"AlthoughAmericans,"thearticleobserved,"stillthinkoftheirland
asaplaceofexceptionalopportunityincontrasttoclassbound
Europetheevidencesuggestsotherwise....Asrecentlyasthelate
1980s,economistsarguedthatnotmuchadvantagepassedfrom
parenttochild,perhapsaslittleas20%.Bythatmeasure,arich
man'sgrandchildwouldhavebarelyanedgeoverapoorman's
grandchild."Butmorecompletestatisticalstudieshavesinceshown
thatsuchconclusionswerewideofthemark."Asubstantialbodyof
researchfindsthatatleast45%ofparents'advantageinincomeis
passedalongtotheirchildren,andperhapsasmuchas60%.With
thehigherestimate,it'snotonlyhowmuchmoneyyourparentshave
thatmattersevenyourgreatgreatgrandfather'swealthmightgive
youanoticeableedgetoday."Thismakesclassmobilityinthe
UnitedStates,thesupposed"classless"opportunitysociety,worse
thanEurope'ssupposedlymore"classbound"society:"Despitethe
widespreadbeliefthattheU.S.remainsamoremobilesocietythan
Europe...thetypicalchildstartinginpovertyincontinentalEurope
(orinCanada)hashadabetterchanceofprosperity."
ButiftheUnitedStatesisnowincontrovertiblyshowntobeaclass
boundsociety,theactualreasonsforthis,accordingtotheWall
StreetJournalarticle,remainamystery.Itcertainlyshouldnotbe
seenasofferingsupportforthecriticsofcapitalismsinceevenKarl
Marx,whothoughtcapitalistclasssocietywouldpolarizebetween
richandpoor,ironicallygotitwrongwhenitcametotheUnited
States,believingthatforverylargenumbersofAmericansthe
"'positionofwagelaboreris...butaprobationalstate.'"

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6/2/2014

John Bellamy Foster, "The Wall Street Journal Meets Karl Marx"

Butisthisreallycorrect?DidtheauthorofDasKapitalbelieve,as
theaforementionedarticleclaims,inthe"boundlessopportunity"
availabletoU.Swagelaborers?ThequotefromMarxintheWall
StreetJournalistakenfromValue,PriceandProfit,anaddressthat
MarxdeliveredinEnglishtotheGeneralCounciloftheFirst
InternationalovertwodaysinJune1865.Inthelargerpassageto
whichthatsentencebelongsMarxsaid:
Incolonialcountriesthelawofsupplyanddemand
favorstheworkingman.Hencetherelativelyhigh
standardofwagesintheUnitedStates.Capitalmaythere
tryitsutmost.Itcannotpreventthelabormarketfrom
beingcontinuouslyemptiedbythecontinuous
conversionofwagelaborersintoindependent,self
sustainingpeasants.Thefunctionofawageslaboureris
foraverylargepartoftheAmericanpeoplebuta
probationalstate,whichtheyaresuretoleavewithina
longerorashorterterm.Tomendthiscolonialstateof
things,thepaternalBritishgovernmentacceptedfor
sometimewhatiscalledthemoderncolonizationtheory,
whichconsistsinputtinganartificialhighpriceupon
colonialland,inordertopreventthetooquick
conversionofthewageslabourerintotheindependent
peasant.(Fromthetextoforiginalpublishedversionof
1898,editedbyMarxsdaughterEleanorMarx.)
HereMarxwasaddressingtherealitythatlargenumbersofwage
workersintheUnitedStatesasinotherwhitesettlercoloniessuch
asCanadaandAustraliafrequentlyfledtheshopsandfactoriesof
thenascentindustrialcapitalistsocietytoobtainplotsoflandthat
theythenworkedassubsistencefarmers.Thismeantthatwageshad
toberelativelyhighwhencomparedtoEuropetokeepworkersin
theworkshopsatall.Capitalismcouldnotfunctionproperlywithout
primitiveaccumulation(orwhatMarxpreferredtocall"original
expropriation")thatseparatedthevastmajorityofthepopulation
fromtheland,leavingthemwithnooptionotherthanwagelabor.
GiventheabundanceofcheaplandintheUnitedStates(andinsome
othercolonizedcountries)theonlywaythistendencyofwage
workerstoexitcapitalistindustryandturnthemselvesintosmall
farmerscouldbearrested,asnineteenthcenturypoliticaleconomists
understood,wasthroughpoliciesthatartificiallyinflatedtheprice
oflandandpromotedconcentratedlandownership.
Byquotingasentenceofthisparagraphoutofcontext,theWall
StreetJournalwasabletosuggestthatKarlMarxtoosupportedthe
propositionthatwageworkersintheUnitedStatesinhisdaywerein
verylargenumbersclimbingstraightuptheclassladderof
Americancapitalism.Intruthhewasexplainingtheconsequences
thatfollowedwhenworkersincoloniesorformercolonies,where
landwasstillreadilyavailable,votedagainstcapitalist
proletarianizationwiththeirfeet.ForMarxasforFrederickJackson
Turnerthissituationwastochangewhenthefrontierwasclosedif
notbefore.
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John Bellamy Foster, "The Wall Street Journal Meets Karl Marx"

"Boundlessopportunity,"whetherintheUnitedStatesorelsewhere,
wasinMarx'sviewincompatiblewithcapitalism,which
systematicallyrestrictedopportunityforthevastmajority.Inthe
finalparagraphsofhistalk,comingtwopagesafterthepassage
referredtobytheWallStreetJournal,hedeclaredtohisworking
classaudiencethatnoanswertoclassexploitationcouldbefound
withintheconfinesofcapitalistsociety."Insteadoftheconservative
motto'Afairday'swagesforafairday'swork!'they[therebelling
workers]ought[therefore]toinscribeontheirbannerthe
revolutionarywatchword:'Abolitionofthewagessystem!'"
IftheWallStreetJournalwantedastatementfromMarxrelevantto
theissueofaclassboundsocietyitcouldhavefounditinthisline
attheendofthespeechfromwhichitquoted.
JohnBellamyFosterisaneditorofMonthlyReview.
|

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