Post by Fewms on Feb 20, 2009 3:14:22 GMT
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page 10
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Unguarded Musings on the Great State
By Minister Gwydion auf der Scheibe
In the West there has been a tendency to stress the *political* aspect of democracy rather than its *economic* aspect, and although at times this may have been carried too far, the fault is on the right side, seeing that a people which surrenders its political rights in return for promises of economic security will soon discover that it has made a bad bargain, as it is helpless if the promises are not kept.
- R.N. Carew Hunt, "The Theory and Practice of Communism", p. 219.
Some predict that Djelibeybi shall arrive at a classless economy within a generation. Others claim that a generation is too short a period for the calculations of psychohistory - that statecraft can only be practiced with millenia in mind, not mere lifetimes. This is a traditional orthodox Djelian theorem, and I accept it unreservedly. Even so, the first group claims that the Revolution every moment renews itself, sloughing the mottled skins of self-interest and capital's uneven distribution. They imagine that if the utopian programme codified in the Revolution advances to plan, then the Great State must wither away, never having been intended to be the revolution's end, but only an elaborate transitional phase.
Those who advance this theory may fear that, having seized power in the Djelian Revolution, the Great State will be unable to get rid of it. The gold dust of absolutism hath clung to its fingers. The caste system of capitalism, in some analogous form, shall gradually replace the comradery of the moment. They insist that a second Revolution is needed to put the revolutionaries of the first against the wall. Quoting the Ephebean poet Theognis, they mutter: "Kill the Tyrant - the gods will not blame." As a priest of Djelibeybi, and therefore a proponent of Orthodoxy, I disagree with these counter-revolutionary ideas.
An ancient autocrat put the alternate possibility well: "The state cannot wither away until its power has first been developed to the uttermost. We are for the withering away of the state. And yet we believe in the proletariat dictatorship, which represents the strongest and mightiest form of state power that has existed up to now. To keep on developing state power in order to prepare the conditions *for* the withering away of state power - that is the Marxist formula. Is it 'contradictory'? Yes, 'contradictory'. But the contradiction is vital, and wholly reflects the Marxist dialectic. Whoever has not understood this feature of the contradictions belonging to our transitional time, whoever has not understood this dialectic of historical processes, that person is dead to Marxism."
The zombie-like procession of dialectical logic can only be reduced to dust when a single term remains. This principle, whose logic cannot be denied, is the cornerstone of Communist utopia. I believe that such a final victory is possible, but I am not not sure that it is desirable. To wax is noble, but not to the degree that it must be followed by decline. Post-absolutist politics is indeed a fascinating field of conjecture, being the political equivalent of post-apocalypticism. Yet, pragmatically, this fantastic end would require too much labour, over too long a period, to be quite enjoyable. Djelibeybi Council is partly defined by opposition. Without a sheath of differently-ideologied wheat to lean against and be propped up by, the Great State could only turn its all-commanding eye upon itself, perhaps persecuting underground resistance movements led by the imagined person of the Patrician (shadows of Hate Week), with the Djelian Department of Propaganda releasing subversive Manifestos in the Patrician's name every other week through a network of agent provocateurs.
While the grandiose objective just mentioned is probably not worth the effort of absolutely obtaining, I do think it should be steadily advanced toward by pursuing the policy of 'Socialism in One Country'; the old notion that the Great State should be the spearhead of a disc-wide Revolution fused to the logical extension of Djelian interests. The accelerated pace of economic development this would require (to be represented to the Citizenry as the essence of Socialism) would necessarily go hand in hand with a forever escalating intensification of the power of the State. This is nothing new; the programme it would required has been in place for many terms, though some have not been aware of it, or, though its very champions, have understood the grand plan.
Morporkian economics, lacking a centre, is like a network of peripheral capillaries. The Great State's economics is more akin to veins and arteries coursing directly to and from a heart. In Ankh-Morpork, concerted action for a great end is difficult, occasionally impossible, for the capitalist overclass is ruled by self-interest, agree on nothing, and resent interference in their attempts to cultivate private fortunes. The Morporkian State is essentially a Night Watchman government, only acting where it must. The captains of capitalism come together in times of crisis, but never on occasions of innovation. On the other hand, economics in the Great State is immensely mobile, for all control is concentrated in a centre - the State itself - from which legimacy and support for any action can be rapidly conferred by elected officials. The mobility resulting from the full concentration of economic activity in the hands of the State is Djelibeybi Council's greatest advantage. Ankh-Morpork's is its quantities of things - citizens, playershops, and houses.
Rental and sales taxes have recently been introduced by the creators. At long last Ankh-Morpork has finally acquired a means of generating passive capital for its Council, suiting its style rather well. Ironically, a Djelian sympathiser in AM, Calagan, has had such taxes, and a scheme for implementing them, as an official policy of his Party for some time. I see little option but for Djelibeybi to continue to press its dynamic advantage, as it has recently done by acquiring a franchise in CWC in the House of Hirai, leading to the People's Bank of Klatch becoming the only bank in the disc with a branch dealing in all possible currencies. This is a good example of the economic adventurism I have found to be the most enjoyable part of Djelibeybi Council. None of this is to pretend that the Great State's economic machinery does not require ongoing adjustment - that there is no effort made by Djelibeybi's shops and bank to record theirprofits and contribution to the Djelian Treasury each term seems inexcusably vague. But the path to be pursued is clear enough. That the death penalty was brought in at the same time as taxes is another pleasant development; the possibility of adding this response to the canon of Djelian law was the reason I first applied to join the college of Magistrates.
The future of the Great State seems bright, lit as it is by a reticulatedly millenial sun. It shall be particularly interesting to see what occurs when Ephebe finally comes in. A Djelo-Ephebian political bloch seems the natural course, but whether it shall occur, and in what form, only time can tell. The words of Molokov in the musical Chess might be regarded by the hopeful as at least intermittently prophetic: "Bit by bit the pieces fit, the Soviet Machine advances - not one move that won't improve our nation's chances! We predict a stunning victory both on the board and off it, this will show the traitor no one rats with profits! From Moscow to the Berring Straits, Citizens will hail our victory - in Arctic circles frozen States will join with all their clans in revelry. And I can say of this affair, I was there, in my chair, playing my part; and Russians all will be aware, I was there - from the start!"
page 10
---
Unguarded Musings on the Great State
By Minister Gwydion auf der Scheibe
In the West there has been a tendency to stress the *political* aspect of democracy rather than its *economic* aspect, and although at times this may have been carried too far, the fault is on the right side, seeing that a people which surrenders its political rights in return for promises of economic security will soon discover that it has made a bad bargain, as it is helpless if the promises are not kept.
- R.N. Carew Hunt, "The Theory and Practice of Communism", p. 219.
Some predict that Djelibeybi shall arrive at a classless economy within a generation. Others claim that a generation is too short a period for the calculations of psychohistory - that statecraft can only be practiced with millenia in mind, not mere lifetimes. This is a traditional orthodox Djelian theorem, and I accept it unreservedly. Even so, the first group claims that the Revolution every moment renews itself, sloughing the mottled skins of self-interest and capital's uneven distribution. They imagine that if the utopian programme codified in the Revolution advances to plan, then the Great State must wither away, never having been intended to be the revolution's end, but only an elaborate transitional phase.
Those who advance this theory may fear that, having seized power in the Djelian Revolution, the Great State will be unable to get rid of it. The gold dust of absolutism hath clung to its fingers. The caste system of capitalism, in some analogous form, shall gradually replace the comradery of the moment. They insist that a second Revolution is needed to put the revolutionaries of the first against the wall. Quoting the Ephebean poet Theognis, they mutter: "Kill the Tyrant - the gods will not blame." As a priest of Djelibeybi, and therefore a proponent of Orthodoxy, I disagree with these counter-revolutionary ideas.
An ancient autocrat put the alternate possibility well: "The state cannot wither away until its power has first been developed to the uttermost. We are for the withering away of the state. And yet we believe in the proletariat dictatorship, which represents the strongest and mightiest form of state power that has existed up to now. To keep on developing state power in order to prepare the conditions *for* the withering away of state power - that is the Marxist formula. Is it 'contradictory'? Yes, 'contradictory'. But the contradiction is vital, and wholly reflects the Marxist dialectic. Whoever has not understood this feature of the contradictions belonging to our transitional time, whoever has not understood this dialectic of historical processes, that person is dead to Marxism."
The zombie-like procession of dialectical logic can only be reduced to dust when a single term remains. This principle, whose logic cannot be denied, is the cornerstone of Communist utopia. I believe that such a final victory is possible, but I am not not sure that it is desirable. To wax is noble, but not to the degree that it must be followed by decline. Post-absolutist politics is indeed a fascinating field of conjecture, being the political equivalent of post-apocalypticism. Yet, pragmatically, this fantastic end would require too much labour, over too long a period, to be quite enjoyable. Djelibeybi Council is partly defined by opposition. Without a sheath of differently-ideologied wheat to lean against and be propped up by, the Great State could only turn its all-commanding eye upon itself, perhaps persecuting underground resistance movements led by the imagined person of the Patrician (shadows of Hate Week), with the Djelian Department of Propaganda releasing subversive Manifestos in the Patrician's name every other week through a network of agent provocateurs.
While the grandiose objective just mentioned is probably not worth the effort of absolutely obtaining, I do think it should be steadily advanced toward by pursuing the policy of 'Socialism in One Country'; the old notion that the Great State should be the spearhead of a disc-wide Revolution fused to the logical extension of Djelian interests. The accelerated pace of economic development this would require (to be represented to the Citizenry as the essence of Socialism) would necessarily go hand in hand with a forever escalating intensification of the power of the State. This is nothing new; the programme it would required has been in place for many terms, though some have not been aware of it, or, though its very champions, have understood the grand plan.
Morporkian economics, lacking a centre, is like a network of peripheral capillaries. The Great State's economics is more akin to veins and arteries coursing directly to and from a heart. In Ankh-Morpork, concerted action for a great end is difficult, occasionally impossible, for the capitalist overclass is ruled by self-interest, agree on nothing, and resent interference in their attempts to cultivate private fortunes. The Morporkian State is essentially a Night Watchman government, only acting where it must. The captains of capitalism come together in times of crisis, but never on occasions of innovation. On the other hand, economics in the Great State is immensely mobile, for all control is concentrated in a centre - the State itself - from which legimacy and support for any action can be rapidly conferred by elected officials. The mobility resulting from the full concentration of economic activity in the hands of the State is Djelibeybi Council's greatest advantage. Ankh-Morpork's is its quantities of things - citizens, playershops, and houses.
Rental and sales taxes have recently been introduced by the creators. At long last Ankh-Morpork has finally acquired a means of generating passive capital for its Council, suiting its style rather well. Ironically, a Djelian sympathiser in AM, Calagan, has had such taxes, and a scheme for implementing them, as an official policy of his Party for some time. I see little option but for Djelibeybi to continue to press its dynamic advantage, as it has recently done by acquiring a franchise in CWC in the House of Hirai, leading to the People's Bank of Klatch becoming the only bank in the disc with a branch dealing in all possible currencies. This is a good example of the economic adventurism I have found to be the most enjoyable part of Djelibeybi Council. None of this is to pretend that the Great State's economic machinery does not require ongoing adjustment - that there is no effort made by Djelibeybi's shops and bank to record theirprofits and contribution to the Djelian Treasury each term seems inexcusably vague. But the path to be pursued is clear enough. That the death penalty was brought in at the same time as taxes is another pleasant development; the possibility of adding this response to the canon of Djelian law was the reason I first applied to join the college of Magistrates.
The future of the Great State seems bright, lit as it is by a reticulatedly millenial sun. It shall be particularly interesting to see what occurs when Ephebe finally comes in. A Djelo-Ephebian political bloch seems the natural course, but whether it shall occur, and in what form, only time can tell. The words of Molokov in the musical Chess might be regarded by the hopeful as at least intermittently prophetic: "Bit by bit the pieces fit, the Soviet Machine advances - not one move that won't improve our nation's chances! We predict a stunning victory both on the board and off it, this will show the traitor no one rats with profits! From Moscow to the Berring Straits, Citizens will hail our victory - in Arctic circles frozen States will join with all their clans in revelry. And I can say of this affair, I was there, in my chair, playing my part; and Russians all will be aware, I was there - from the start!"