(Concerning Fun, The State and Property )
07.11.97

My dearest Khalid,

The Symphony of Nightingales:
"A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever!

I did not yet receive any comments about the last lectures, I assume that you are still digesting the contents; because, at last, we are entering the sphere of your next upcoming opus magnum, your planned book on Intellectual Property Rights. Let us take it more relaxed today, let us have some fun. After all, scientific  a n d  philosophic discovery is Fun, is a Beauty, like John Keats correctly had stated: "A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever!"

Of course, we have to differentiate between what we understand by Property, and, what is written about Property in books, in writings to be published, and what is contained in lectures and papers of Universities and Congresses. On their levels and degrees, all their contents are "true" and valid; but those are not the only "truths", blowing around in the wind, being whispered to us by ideological nightingales.

"Men Of The World Smoke Max!" versus "Smoke More!"

In fact, what we understand by the concept "property", contains all these connotations and more. If it comes to thinking this "more", and formulating new concepts, we are worse off than most bourgeois economists, who have problems finding concepts of their own and not to use the classical Marxian concepts of economy. This is not about coining new concepts for the sake of introducing new terms at any cost, and thereby discard the everyday meanings. This would just lead to ignorance on our part and would result in heavy attacks, degrading us as disqualified non-academics, lumpen-intellectuals, drug-addicts and chain-smokers. Which reminds us of the "Golden Fifties", during the "Cold War", when the favourite cigarette-smoking slogan was not "Workers Of The World, Unite!", but still: "Men Of The World Smoke Max!". Nowadays, the so-called "quackademics" are officially downgraded, thrown into a clinic, where buckets full of prozac and other drugs are stuffed down their throats; or they are simply being declared mental invalids,  "intellectually disabled" and ripe for the madhouse.

We insist, that there is "no praxical smoke without a theoretic fire", hence, We Smoke More! Of course, with soothing and smoothening Menthol! Some scientific nightingales "spread the word" that it synchronizes and harmonizes the neurone-ends and that it is a panacea par excellence against cancerous "Zombieism"!

Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie

Not that the above really matters, but we should let sleeping dogs lie; in any case, generally their bark is louder than their bite; and we have too much to do, especially, when so little has been done until now. Instead of participating in unproductive skirmishes, in useless vendettas, in unnecessary waste of adrenaline, let us get down to our daily "business", that is, to do, to think, and to surpass our proper, our own thing!

Concerning The "Withering Away of The State"

Khalid, in one of your previous letters, you have mentioned, that
Marxists have failed to analyse the functions of the current State, especially its precise "withering away" (as Engels had "stated" it);  also you mentioned how they have ignored the State functions of the present multinational global corporations.

Knowledge and "Zeitgeist"

In their favour, we have to state, that they are products of their "Time", that they are also being influenced by the reigning "Time Spirit" (Zeitgeist) of their epoch, that they are simply tied to the "Erkenntnisschranken", to the "cognitive and cognositive
barriers" of their specific "historical" period.  Like anyone else,
who is still "human", they are also only human, and: errare humanum est!

Surely, progressively the modern State is "withering away", but not within the framework of the "dictatorship of the peasantry and proletariat". Similarly, analytical errors resulted in the determination of concepts like "Labour", "Property", "Human Rights", etc. In no way the remarks elaborated here are intended to minimize the immense philosophical and theoretical contributions of the Marxist titans of the Patria and History.

The Eagle's Perspective

From an eagle's eye view, as we said before, let us relax on Mount Everest, and with majestic magnanimity study the surrounding social panorama. Certainly, we are in a favourable position to study the in's and out's, the pro's and con's, of the State, of Property; thus, we need not fall prey to the general myopic, static and monolithic babble, rabble and ramble concerning this fundamental exploitative and dominating term. We are aware that  somehow we have placed you on the horns of a dilemma, because you did not have in mind to treat Intellectual Property Rights within the context of such a delicate, scientific-philosophic approach.

The Frogmobile, Discovering New Historic Worlds

Do not panic, our lectures are only meant to put you into orbit, to adjust your wave-length, to tune your intellectual motor, and to allow you to reach cruising thinking-speed, to be faster than any computer, than the speed of light! However, note, to travel faster than light does not concern books, jobs and rights in the Patria; it has to do with our Principle of Invincible Invisibility  a n d  Invisible Invincibility, with cybering inside and with your Frogmobile towards New Historic Worlds!

In the same way that Capital had experienced a metamorphosis across the various stages of its accumulation, Labour and Property have transformed their appearance forms. Just like you are not the same person as you have been ten, twenty or thirty years ago, similarly, Property and the Corporations have changed over the ages. These changes pertain to quantitative and to qualitative moments within the very same patriarchal process. P is not always P = P, it can become C within its own P-ness! Generally,
when we live too "close" to the "winds of change", we do not register the epoch-making dramatic transvolutions immediately.

Learning from Luther and Van Gogh

When Luther was knocking around, nailing his thesis onto the door of the Wittenberg Church, making a hell of a noise, the "staunch believers", who were standing next to him, the impoverished mob attracted by curiosity and boredom, did not realize that the Reformation had just begun in Europe! Also, take note, at the foot of a light-house, you barely can see the light; your frogmobile must be far away out, at sea, to register the warning of possible rocky danger. The dark and sombre expressionist picture, which Vincent Van Gogh was just busy painting, at that moment, when it was not yet complete, he could not yet have known with exactitude, that later it would become a very famous portrayal of Dutch peasant life. Similarly, what the weaver weaves, as yet, she does not know. Who knows what we are up to? Pandemonium is still in the making, in the thinking!

Moving Away from the Skyline of Manhattan

In this sense, the real essence of current "Property" and "Globalization" is still too dim, too vague, to grasp with full mental capacity; but we are improving, we are moving away from the
"fairy-lights" of the IMF, from the Skyline of Manhattan, and as you know, to your Frogmobile, distance lends enchantment to the view!

Next time, we will get down to "more" serious things again; this was just a jolly relaxation, a little pause, the calm before the next intellectual storm!

The Germans say: "Spass muss sein!"; Also Fun Must Be! Well, Khalid, it was not funny, but we had great fun!

For today,
Sweet Dreams!

Franz.

(continued)