20211003

• Marx believed that the basis of value was social and not concrete, unlike prior thinkers
• fetishism shows that there’s more to the world than what is directly observable, and it must be overcome. fetishism could be seen as a critique of empiricism, you need more than empirical research to understand what’s going on
• it is more important to be a communist than a marxist
• the law of value is operating in china
• the Soviet union and China have turned out to not be emancipatory projects
• taking state power is only the first step, and any communist movement that holds power for its own sake is not a liberatory one
• those who say that china is communist because the bourgeoisie do are on the same side as the bourgeoisie. this attitude does not say anything worthwhile