Re: [microsound] Physical Media - aura in an age of immaterial reproduction

[cyborgk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi Graham,

I think you are being a little imprecise in your definition of capitalism.
Trading goods is NOT in any way shape or form, capitalism. Money is not
capitalism. I tend to follow the Marxist definition of capitalism, in that
capitalism implies not only markets, but also an accumulation of capital
in a particular class, such that: one class has only its labor to sell,
whereas another can continually accumulate more and more capital, and thus
gains a disproportionate amount of power over the other class, not to
mention the State and society in general.

You can have money, and markets, without capitalism. Phish concerts are
markets, but not necessarily capitalism - or, there is capitalism but its
via Ticketmaster and the record labels, not necessarily what happens in
the parking lot. In the parking lot is a more or less free market,
essentially unregulated. Not all leftists think markets are bad, though
I'm inclined to some skepticism on market claims during this period of
extreme neo-liberalism and market worship.

By the way, to counter your Darwinian lord of the flies claims, I'm in a
music collective and I do think we (sometimes) operate in values
alternative to normal capitalist modes. For example, when we had our 2006
New Years party, the club did not give us much in the way of a guestlist,
and the event was $40. Some of our members and friends could not afford to
pay. So, we started a fund, those who had more money gave, those who were
poorest got help with some or all of the door cover. As part of this, most
of us played for free that night. So, even now, I think there are plenty
of examples to counter your vision. It's just not as bleak as you claim!

I think that more generally, music collectives, and collective projects,
really can open the way towards building institutions with different
values than those of capitalism generally - though without a doubt, it's
difficult to sustain within capitalist economies. I think Venezuala,
however, is taking some very interesting steps in this regard, creating
networks of worker-managed firms that can trade and work together rather
than trying to survive in isolation.

Not only that, but even in the arts, some places are much better with
funding than others - my friend in Windsor gets grants for projects
frequently from the Canadian Arts Council, etc. It's just in the U.S.A.,
we have pursued capitalism in the most ruthless form possible, with no
role of the government to mitigate the worst problems created by the
market.

PS. This question isn't really addressed to those who think "nothing else
can be" anyway, because it rather defeats the point of my thought
experiment. Still, everyone has their own opinion on such things...

~David


> what happens is this (surprise surprise): you get capitalism all over
> again.
>
> just like the phish phans and deadheads and burners who think they can
> dodge the system by thinking they can opt out. suddenly you're trading
> hemp necklaces for water because without water you're gonna die in the
> desert and all you know how to do is make necklaces.  'oh wow, people
> who have water want my necklaces,' you think. ' i wonder if i can trade
> my goods for their goods...' ta da! capitalism!
>
> burners, heads and micronauts... they all end up creating their own
> microcapitalist society in parking lots, stadium grounds, a desert, the
> internet... the whole thing repeats itself, lord of the flies styles...
> advertising, marketing, design, politics, hate, jealousy, envy... the
> whole thing is reproduced over and over again like a somekind of genetic
> mandelbrot set programmed into our very essence...
>
> aesthetic darwinism will triumph in a proper free market society. sorry
> lefties, but i'm a firm believer.
>
> the 'best' music that nobody listens to will make money. the 'worst'
> music that everybody listens to will make money. everybody is happy.
> aphex twin can drive a tank and brittany spears can be driven in a limo.
>
> flame away.
>
> ayn graham.
>


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