Tar Sands are now of Equal Value

http://www.economist.com/node/17959688


This is an interesting article relevant to Marx's points on the magnitude of value:
"What exclusively determines the magnitude of value of any article is therefore the amount of labour socially necessary, or labour-time socially necessary for its production" (Marx, 129)


As we all know oil prices are increasing as is the demand for oil. American (or the World for this matter) dependency on oil is by means declining. Until recently Canadian tar sand oil was not economically feasible to extract. It was unprofitable due to the lack of technology. The "labour socially necessary" for tar sand oil could not compete with OPEC and other major sources. Due to recent innovations the labour time is equal that of the competition thus making tar sands of equal value. Innovations are not the only contributing factor for this equalization (supply and demand principles are attributes as well). Although, they are significant in relevancy to Marx's "magnitude of value."


Interesting Quotes from Article:
"After a brief hiatus during the economic downturn, world oil consumption is rising again, pushing the price of a barrel towards $100. By 2035, believes the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand may reach 110m barrels per day (b/d), about 20% more than in 2009. For those who exploit the tar sands, which contain the world’s second-largest trove of oil, this is a welcome forecast."


"The cost of production has fallen: a few years ago most firms thought the break-even price was $75 per barrel, but now companies such as Shell say new developments are economical at $50."


"At 173 billion recoverable barrels, the tar sands are worth $15.7 trillion at today’s price." 

KARL MARX (1818-1883) was an insensitive man -- he was not that concerned about the feelings of those individuals with whom he came in contact. The majority of men, he thought, were either fools or sycophants.

I found this article very entertaining to read and also very informative. It gave a detailed explanation of Marx life. I am sure he was not a very pleasant person to be around but I think i would have enjoyed meeting him and talking to him. Even though I know he would probably have not agreed with me and thought I was a fool I do have respect for anyone who is strong in their beliefs, even if the conflict with mine.

The Problems With "Expansionary Austerity"

Via:

The infuriating thing about this tragedy is that it was completely unnecessary. Half a century ago, any economist — or for that matter any undergraduate who had read Paul Samuelson’s textbook “Economics” — could have told you that austerity in the face of depression was a very bad idea. But policy makers, pundits and, I’m sorry to say, many economists decided, largely for political reasons, to forget what they used to know. And millions of workers are paying the price for their willful amnesia.

Worker Productivity In The News

From a recent Washington Post editorial...

But consider that, despite the recession, the productivity of U.S. workers has increased fourfold since the 1950s. Put another way, as of 2000, employees work one hour to produce what it took four hours to create a half-century ago. Meanwhile, the buying power of wages has remained stagnant and in recent years has even begun to decline. Someone is getting rich off the exponential rise in productivity, but it is not the American worker.

In the past, unions struggled not only to raise pay but also to shorten the hours that their members had to work. The trend toward shorter hours continued unabated from the Civil War through the end of the Great Depression and the enactment, in 1938, of the Fair Labor Standard Act’s 40-hour-week provision. But during World War II work hours increased sharply, and it has not been a significant public issue since.

I've always been intrigued with the concept of "wealth". It leaves much room for interpretation, and would mean entirely different things throughout history and in different societies today. The same goes for "needs".

Marx, in the very first sentence of Capital, provides what I feel to be an accurate description of wealth - through the lens of capitalism: "The wealth of societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails appears as in 'immense collection of commodities'..."

He defines a 'commodity' as an external object, "which through its qualities satisfies human needs of whatever kind...the nature of these needs, whether they arise, for example, from the stomach, or the imagination, makes no difference." The key, from my view, is the word 'external' - which should come as no surprise. But should this be the definition of 'wealth'?

I'm majoring in Sustainable Development, the official definition being: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Is the pursuit of wealth, in the sense of accumulating external objects, sustainable? Do our pursuits rob future generations?

Marx Homework

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeE3-rOG7i4

This Rapper in particular represents to me a lot of Marxist ideologies.  He describes primitive accumulation and its affects according to the Marxist train of thought.  

Next Week

Next week, each of the folks listed below will be posting to the blog something from this list dealing with an aspect of the readings from the first three sections of Chapter 1. You may post your homework anytime during the week, but bonus points for posting by midnight Monday.

1/30: Doucet, Franks, Jovin-Fisher, Kovasckits

I Forgot!

I forgot to remind you all about Angela Davis this evening! My apologies!

I hope some of you still made it out to the event. It was an engaging and inspiring talk, connecting MLK's later more radical labor politics with the current Occupy Movement, with prison labor unions, with global anti-capitalist struggles. One of my favorite lines from the evening: "The rich get richer, and the poor get prison!"

If some of you went to hear Angela Davis tonight, please feel free to share with us your own comments, observations, and favorite moments below.

Monsanto and its primitive accumulation

Marx says that primitive accumulation is the way for people to exit from the cycle of subsistence farming to a more complex economic, and (inevitably) social, model. He then recounts the history of how land was consolidated by kings and conquerors and other models of oppression, which I believe are modernly represented by international corporate associations. These conglomerates, well, conglomerated by the primitive accumulation of the means of capital contained in their structure and established role in markets, etc., forming sufficient partnerships to maintain a delicate balance of power and obscurity. One of these 'obscure' corporations, itself within a larger entity, is the modern agricultural equivalent of... nothing. There are no equivalents based in modern history so I will refer to go to the and say Monsanto is like the flood Noah had to escape, but with lawyers.
Monsanto is an organization which is mostly involved in the development of genetically-modified plants (GMO's) and gets a lot of criticism from the misinformed public for this rather than their true crime within the sale of the seeds containing those genetic alterations. GMOs allow world food production to have the yield it does and are now essential to keeping the estimated 1 billion starving people in the world at only 1 billion. The problem here is that many of the GMOs do not produce viable seeds (by design) which makes the farmers dependent on purchasing seeds every year and thus on Monsanto. This challenges the implementation of sustainable growing practices since prices will influence what species and varieties of plants are grown by the farmers and further dedicate those workers to Monsanto. However, this is all assuming that the farmers are private and not committed to an industrial farming organization. If so then it is doubtlessly utilizing Monsanto's products under contract or partnership and the decisions of those 'industrial' farmers are made for them.
I wonder if there is a moral method of primitive accumulation. Is that what communism is at some foundational level?

Angela Davis!

Angela Davis is speaking on campus tomorrow night! You are all invited to attend. Bring a friend! In addition to being a fabulous speaker and an iconic figure of the civil rights movement, Angela Davis was also a student of the late Herbert Marcuse who was himself an extraordinarily influential Marxist theorist. Please come hear her speak. Consider it a class assignment, although roll will not be taken.

The 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration: An Evening with
Angela Davis
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Farthing Auditorium
Appalachian State University
6pm Talk followed by 7:30pm Book Signing and Dessert Reception
Free and Open to the Public

 

From Wikipedia:

Angela Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis emerged as a nationally prominent activist in the 1960s, when she was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party. Prisoner rights have been among her continuing interests; she is the founder of "Critical Resistance,"an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex. She is a retired professor with the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is the former director of the university's Feminist Studies department.[2] Her research interests are in feminism, African American studies, critical theory, Marxism, popular music and social consciousness, and the philosophy and history of punishment and prisons.[3] 

Her membership in the Communist Party led to Ronald Reagan's request in 1969 to have her barred from teaching at any university in the State of California. She was tried and acquitted of suspected involvement in the Soledad brothers' August 1970 abduction and murder of Judge Harold Haley in Marin County, California. 

She was twice a candidate for Vice President on the Communist Party USA ticket during the 1980s.