We, and previous generations, have built up a productive capacity that is more than sufficient to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and amuse everyone on the planet. The only barrier to its use for that purpose is that it exists as capital. The only basis for its continuing existence as capital is our continuing acceptance of capitalist and state property rights.

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Neither ‘socialist’ governments nor ‘communist’ regimes have ever brought society a day nearer socialism or communism. There are many reasons why not, but the basic reason is simple. Production for exchange can’t be gradually reformed into production directly for use.

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Why not now? We don’t need to wait for capitalism to increase productive capacity to the point where the co-operative commonwealth is possible, because it’s already done so…

From Scotsman Ken MacLeod’s blog. He’s also an accomplished author of sci-fi, which perhaps explains the complete Pollyanna fantasy he lays out in his post, illustrated by the excerpts above.

Just what it is that makes such an apparently smart guy unable to see his own contradictions? Here, in plain view, in a nutshell, he’s arguing that because capitalism has been such a success at raising the world’s productive capacity, while socialism and communism such total failures, that society ought to just abolish the very one fundamental thing that has made it all possible – private property.

Go figure.

(via John Venlet)