1. Karl Marx in America: Readings for the Current Global Economic Crisis Joseph W.H. Lough, Ph.D. Filozofski fakultet Tuzla Blog: http://www.newconsensus.org/MarxInAmerica/http://www.newconsensus.org/MarxInAmerica/ Twitter: @jwhlough email: joseph.lough@gmail.comjoseph.lough@gmail.com phone: +387 603375497

2. Preview The Problem The Course Expectations Gymnasium in a Box

3. The Problem Are the Balkan Wars an isolated event, or do they invite us to explore broader, even global historical, social, and economic patterns? If they are of a global scope, then we need to understand those features in the global system that give rise to these kinds of events.

4. The Course The Emergence of the World System The Defense of the World System Interpreting the Crisis of the World System

5. Expectations Able to read and discuss in English Access to the internet and the ability to log onto and interact with blog Commitment to reading and discussing 50- 60 pages each week Commitment to introducing readings 2-3 times and writing response paragraphs... with some practice

6. Expectations Grasp of a range of interpretations of the appearance and expansion of the World System Grasp of the standard defense of the World System Grasp of a range of interpretations of the crisis in the World System Appreciation for problem-based research and writing

7. Karl Marx in America When was Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nation’s written? When did the global system emerge? When did the latest (and longest) downturn in the global system first appear? What policy decisions did it inspire? What provoked the fragmentation of the former Yugoslavia?

8. Gymnasium in a Box We need to talk about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Why ? But first we need to talk about communities of discourse and systems

9. Gymnasium in a Box The Problem: Where to Begin? Communities of Discourse/ Communities of Problem Solving Where are our communities? Who makes up our communities?

10. Gymnasium in a Box The “particular” and the “universal”

11. Gymnasium in a Box What is a system? Famil y Foo d Pla y Weathe r Skill s

12. Gymnasium in a Box

13. We have chosen to begin with one community Why? (or one set of communities)

14. Gymnasium in a Box Answer: This is the community (or these are the communities) within which a set of shared problems had emerged These are the communities that have developed tools (practices, words, theories) to negotiate this set of shared problems

15. Gymnasium in a Box Is this tool-box universal or is it particular? Is the discursive community that is engaging this problem universal or particular?

16. Gymnasium in a Box We need to talk about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle But before that we need to explain Athens?

17. Gymnasium in a Box Why Athens? - Thucydides: isolated, rocky, thinly populated, inhospitable, pirates/traders - tyrants/despots ( τύραννος/δεσπότης) - similar to other places not yet dominated by empire

18. Gymnasium in a Box Why Athens? - how did Darius help the Greeks recognize that they were Greeks? - how did victory over the Persians transform the Greeks? - who were the oligarchs ( ὀ λιγαρχία) ?

19. Gymnasium in a Box Welcome to Socrates’ World - how did Socrates make his living? - what kept the oligarchs in check?

20. Gymnasium in a Box But before we can talk about Socrates, we need to talk about Pericles Which means talking about Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

21. Gymnasium in a Box ὄ στρακα (pl., ostraca, sing., ὄ στρακον, ostracon), ostracise, ostracism

22. Gymnasium in a Box Enter Pericles - traditional account: Pericles is the “father of democracy” - why might this oligarch have wanted “democracy”? - let me tell you about Cimon

23. Gymnasium in a Box Enter Pericles - made it possible for all male Athenians born of two Athenian parents to vote - paid citizens to sit on jury’s in court, whether they had legal training or not - gave free theater tickets to everyone (therein fundamentally altering the production of culture)

24. Gymnasium in a Box Enter Pericles - begins to eliminate his political opponents - the remaining oligarchs try to rein in Pericles’ power - but they are too late

25. Gymnasium in a Box Pericles... once he has eliminated the opposition and consolidated power - takes Athens to war against Sparta - why? - Often big wars start in small places - why?

26. Gymnasium in a Box Epidamnus declines; democrats expel aristocrats Aristocrats join enemies to retake Epidamnus Democrats appeal to Corcyra for help Corcyra says no; appeal to Corinth; Corinth says yes Corinth v. Corcyra

27. Gymnasium in a Box Democratic Epidamnus allied with Corinth is soundly defeated by Aristocratic Epidamnus allied with Corcyra Corinth prepares for war with Aristocratic Corcyra With whom will democratic Pericles side?

28. Gymnasium in a Box All parties are poised for war King Agamemnon then addresses the parties Agamemnon is a war-hardened General; his response to being called a “sissy” by his troops

29. Gymnasium in a Box Pericles caught with his pants down Does anyone remember the relationships among European royalty before World War I? Does anyone remember how the Bush and bin Laden families are related?

30. Gymnasium in a Box Does anyone remember how Pericles is related to Archidamus, the General of the Spartans?

31. Gymnasium in a Box Father of Democracy - Athenians are now coming home in body bags; - The treasury is empty; Athens is under siege; plague has taken hold - Pericles had sold the war as a mission for freedom and justice - Now the Athenians want to oust him

32. Gymnasium in a Box Pericles had sold the war and sold Athens as a leader of democratic freedoms and liberties So how did the Athenians respond to Pericles’ “truth-telling”?

33. Gymnasium in a Box Aren’t you dying to know how the story ends?

34. Gymnasium in a Box Now we’re ready to talk about Socrates

35. Karl Marx in America

36. Gymnasium in a Box Who is Gorgias? What is Gorgias’ art? What is Socrates’ problem with Gorgias’ art?

37. Gymnasium in a Box What does Socrates think about Periclean Democracy? What does Socrates think about Pericles?

38. Gymnasium in a Box On what charges was Socrates tried and put to death? Was he guilty?

39. Gymnasium in a Box Plato (like Socrates) is a well- placed Athenian What has happened to the oligarchs? Who now rules Athens? What does Plato think of those who now rule Athens?

40. Gymnasium in a Box Plato’s problem: under conditions of Periclean Democracy, how can we prevent the people from putting good men (like Socrates) to death?

41. Gymnasium in a Box Who are “the Guardians”? How are they selected?

42. Gymnasium in a Box What is a “convenient story”? τ ῶ ν ψευδ ῶ ν τ ῶ ν ἐ ν δέοντι – a necessary deceipt or lie ψευδομένους – a beguiling or cheating story ψευδομένους

43. Gymnasium in a Box What is the story? Who will believe the story? Who will understand the purpose of the story?

44. Gymnasium in a Box So, how do we prevent a Perclean Democracy from sentencing good men (like Socrates) to death?

45. Gymnasium in a Box Enter Aristotle Aristotle wanted to become the head master of the Academy He couldn’t. Why?

46. Gymnasium in a Box Why did Aristotle’s fortunes change? What is Aristotle’s problem?

47. Gymnasium in a Box Aristotle faces the same problem as Plato, with one major difference... What is that difference?

48. Gymnasium in a Box Problem: in what kind of society are good men (such as Socrates) not sentenced to death? What was Plato’s solution?

49. Gymnasium in a Box Is the Guardian – the philosopher King – happy? Can anyone briefly recount the story of the cave? So, according to Plato, the Guardian “sees” and contemplates the “true,” the “good,” and the “beautiful”

50. Gymnasium in a Box But when the Guardian looks out upon the world of appearances – the shadow world cast by the light of the fire on the walls of the cave; and when he compares those shadows to the “good,” the “true,” and the “beautiful”...

51. Gymnasium in a Box For Plato, where does happiness happen and how does it happen How does this differ from Aristotle’s view of happiness? (under Periclean Democracy)?

52. Gymnasium in a Box Aristotle’s conditions for happiness - education - family and friends - community - wealth - health... in pursuit of virtue for the public good

53. Gymnasium in a Box What do “the many” – the hoi polloi ( ο ἱ πολλοί ) under Periclean Democracy – think that happiness is?

54. Gymnasium in a Box The public, material consummation of human happiness, good, and virtue entails active, engaged citizenship together in res publica, the Republic: πολιτεία. This is what human beings were made for; this is their ultimate end

55. Gymnasium in a Box But, what is the sphere of the political (politeia) and how do we distinguish it from the private sphere, from oikonomia ( ο ἰ κονομία )?

56. Gymnasium in a Box For Aristotle, here is the reason good men (like Socrates) are sentenced to death by “the many,” the hoi polloi.

57. Gymnasium in a Box How do most people differentiate oikonomia from politeia? They actually differ according to kind; how?

58. Gymnasium in a Box Remember the four kinds of people from Plato’s noble lie? Gold, Silver, Iron, and Bronze Are people really equal? What did Pericles accomplish when he appointed and paid hoi polloi to serve in his courts and on his juries?

59. Gymnasium in a Box Would a private household – an oikonomia (from oikos, house) – function if all its members were equal? Would a private enterprise (again, oikonomia) function if all its members were equal?

60. Gymnasium in a Box Is inequality “natural”? Do we differ from one another “naturally”? Are children “naturally” weaker than adults? Are children “naturally” less experienced, less educated, smaller, more vulnerable? Are women “naturally” weaker than men?

61. Gymnasium in a Box Is the politeia “natural”? When we attempt to base politeia on oikonomia – the public sphere on the private – what are we doing?

62. Gymnasium in a Box There is nothing at all “natural” about making sure that all citizens enjoy substantive equality. It is highly “unnatural.” And, yet, short of substantive equality of all citizens, we are no better than cows To achieve our full potential we must break out of our “natural” bondage

63. Gymnasium in a Box How much money is enough money? If you could, would you add another zero? Would you keep adding zeros? How many coats are enough? How many shoes? How many houses? Why ?

64. Gymnasium in a Box Politeia is substantive It has a body Its aims are substantive: coats, shoes, health, education, homes, music... So, what happens when we subject these finite, limited, substantive ends to that which has no end?

65. Gymnasium in a Box So what would it mean if we actually did build an entire world system on this limitless, completely immaterial, insatiable foundation?

66. Gymnasium in a Box The beginnings of a community of discourse - public/private, master/slave, freedom/necessity, material/ideal The beginnings of a shared problem

67. Preview Problem: for 2.5M years social relations were mediated by a wide variety of intersecting, logically irreconcilable systems In the 13th century, one logical system began to emerge that would come to dominate and attempt to eliminate all others Readings: D Landes, “Revolution in Time”; EP Thompson, “Time, Work Discipline and Industrial Capitalism”; I Kant, Prolegomena