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From capitalism to banana-less society: the bizarre vision of socialists exposed! [1]

['Thom Dunn']

Date: 2023-07-26

Will there be bananas after capitalism? It's a quandary that has plagued many a socialist philosopher throughout history, including journalist Malcolm Harris, author of the new book Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World. In a recent Twitter thread, Harris contemplated:

Pro-growth lefties accuse their opponents of being out of touch with working-class preferences and focused on consumption instead of production but what do they imagine planning support looks like for, say, "fresh bananas at every American 7/11" among the world's banana workers? — Malcolm Harris (@BigMeanInternet) July 17, 2023

There need not be any moralism here ("When you eat a banana, you are bad") there just… won't be bananas. Because it doesn't make any other-than-capitalist sense to create a world-spanning daily banana infrastructure for people in Columbus, Ohio. — Malcolm Harris (@BigMeanInternet) July 17, 2023

Pro-growth lefties accuse their opponents of being out of touch with working-class preferences and focused on consumption instead of production but what do they imagine planning support looks like for, say, "fresh bananas at every American 7/11" among the world's banana workers? That means fewer bananas for American workers, but if we're focused on production not consumption then the expropriation and suppression of Chiquita Corp. is obviously a huge win for the global working class (as well as the environment). There need not be any moralism here ("When you eat a banana, you are bad") there just … won't be bananas. Because it doesn't make any other-than-capitalist sense to create a world-spanning daily banana infrastructure for people in Columbus, Ohio.

Harris also points out that even Marx himself differentiated between "utopian doctrinaire socialism," which uses socialism as a means of operating capital, and revolutionary socialism, which means the "abolition of all the social relations that correspond to [capitalist] relations of production."

If you're still reading, this may all sound very obscure and in-the-weeds of socialist discourse. Like, "It's a banana, Michael, how much could it cost? Socialism?"

But fear not! Because over in New York Magazine, "Intelligencer" journalist Eric Levitz got even more in-the-weeds on the topic of whether or not bananas — that delicious yellow potassium-rich fruit that is only so plentiful because of American military intervention in South America on behalf of corporate imperialism — will still be a common food source in a utopian socialist future. We're talking 3500 words deep on the subject of post-colonial bananaism. But if you, like me, find that sort of discourse to be gleefully delightful, then I highly recommend reading the piece. Preferably while eating a Chiquita banana.

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