• RedDawn [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 month ago

    You are correct, sorry! I was at work when I replied earlier and didn’t read you properly or didn’t comprehend properly what you were saying, so yes, the confusion was on my end. I’ll delete my previous comment.

    The use of the word “capital” to mean machinery etc is colloquial and non-Marxist. Marx uses the more specific term “constant capital” to refer to capitalist investment in these things, while “capital” itself is a broader term referring to the social relation of self expanding value of which these things are simply a part. Thank you for setting me straight, usually I’m pretty good at understanding when the word is being used in the colloquial sense vs the Marxist sense but again I was sloppy because I was replying while at work and not paying enough attention.

    Now that I think we are on the same page let me try again with the point of my original comment, I was just trying to clear up where I think you were talking past the other user because they were using the word one way and you were using it in the more correct Marxist way. I think when the others were speaking of countries “recapitalizing”, they meant onshoring, or bringing the constant capital back into their own borders.

    • SadArtemis [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      1 month ago

      I- huh. Thanks for clearing it up, sounds like we were both reading each other wrong (speaking the wrong language effectively) then.

      NGL thanks for responding on that actually, I actually was disappointed at what seemed like the end result of the conversation (seemed so close and yet so very far). FWIW I also was being sloppy and not paying the most attention (as said in various other comments- tired, no energy for it).

      I think when the others were speaking of countries “recapitalizing”, they meant onshoring, or bringing the constant capital back into their own borders.

      And yeah, their take on it was what I was trying to respond to initially.

      • RedDawn [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        1 month ago

        speaking the wrong language effectively

        Yeah exactly this. I basically have a habit of code switching and using more colloquial terms and definitions when I talk about capitalism and these things with people in the workplace or normie online spaces like Reddit, but I should have remembered where I was and that people on this forum tend to discuss things with more precise Marxist understanding. Thanks again for your efforts to explain it and helping me get those wires un-crossed in my head.

        As I was driving home from work I listened to this video which helped me realize where I was going wrong. If you ever find yourself getting frustrated having to explain this to somebody in the future maybe you can link them to this, it is professor Wolff explaining essentially what you said in a succinct way.

        https://youtu.be/6fOtDtAjtdY