David Harvey, geógrafo y teórico marxista, nació en Inglaterra hace ya tiempo, y sin importar su edad, ha dedicado su vida a el urbanismo y la teoría socialista. Es uno de los más respetados en su área, y una persona que ha dejado huella no solo en la geografía. Sus conceptos y análisis sobre las ciudades, la geografía y el capitalismo muestran profundidad a la hora de relacionar las ciencias económicas, geográficas y los conceptos desarrollados por el marxismo.
Este breve trabajo es una charla dada en el 2019 en la conferencia internacional de “El futuro es público”. Harvey simplemente nos dice porque hay que ser anticapitalista, metiéndose en esta discusión que recorre el globo sobre como canalizar la bronca y el odio por las condiciones de vida actuales, que han llevado a la aparición de movimientos de derecha.
Hoy el capital domina todo el mundo, no hay rincón que no esté relacionado a algún tipo de cadena del capital. Esto se debe a que, desde la época de Marx, el capital ha estado expandiéndose, de forma infinita diría Harvey[1]. Pero lo único que puede expandirse infinitamente es el dinero. Pero el dinero, sobre todo cuando abandona el patrón oro, puede expandirse en forma de espiral hasta el infinito. Pero acá arranca el problema, porque el dinero para servir al capital tiene que rendir ganancias cada vez mayores, por lo que ese dinero a medida que crece hay que invertirlo. La velocidad de crecimiento hace que ese dinero se invierta en las finanzas y en otras cosas que no estén relacionados directamente a la producción. Un ejercicio simple, hoy los jugadores de futbol se venden por cifras que hace 20 años se pensaban imposibles.
Este espiral no tiene control, por el capitalismo en el fondo es caótico, e ilimitadamente voraz. El punto es que el capital está gobernado por «abstracciones», no por personas, como ya se ha escrito, todo es el mercado, las crisis, y demás procesos ingobernables por las personas.
Eso sí, lo disimulamos; no hay caos, es la libertad del individuo, o así se lo presenta. ”…toma ese mundo de libertad e independencia individual, y lo que hace es construir un mundo de esclavitud salarial, peonaje por deudas, desigualdad.”[2]. Siguiendo a Marx, pero aclarando los tantos, la emancipación será colectiva, pero para liberar al individuo, no para eliminar al individuo. Este punto es importante, ya que la visión de muchas personas de a pie (engañadas por la propaganda reaccionaria) es que el socialismo es el Estado aplastando al individuo. Idea que hay que eliminar de la teoría socialista si se quiere tener una oportunidad. Como bien dice Harvey: “…la emancipación individual depende de un proyecto colectivo”[3].
Acá una de las razones para Harvey, la liberación del individuo, y la única opción para esto es el socialismo, pero para que esta idea cale en las masas, hay que romper con ideas anteriores donde el individuo es avasallado por el Estado, las ideas, y todas las excusas que se han usado para instaurar dictaduras burocráticas en nombre del socialismo.
El sistema ha mostrado demasiadas contradicciones, se ha vuelto intolerable. Ha habido estallidos sociales en todas partes del mundo, Seattle, España, Francia, por no hablar del famosos “tercer mundo” siempre complicado. Esta violencia que estalla cada tanto, esta bronca contenida, “No significa que quieran un sistema socialista ni marxista, puede significar cualquier cosa.”[4]. Es solo la muestra de que este sistema no funciona, a decir del autor.
Harvey continua el texto con una discusión acerca del impulso de la acumulación: ¿masa o tasa de ganancia? Cuando se habla del capital siempre aparece este debate, según este autor. Para él lo importante, sin menospreciar el tema de la tasa, es la masa. El capital necesita generar más capital, para eso hay que aumentar la masa de mercancías que se venden. A esta altura de la acumulación, la masa de capital circulante es algo impensado en otras épocas, incluso para Marx. Esa masa de mercancías tiene que ser consumida, y ahí surge el problema.
El consumo se ha vuelto efímero, cada vez más se consumen experiencias, no productos a decir del autor[5]. El consumo es un espectáculo, “…se experimenta de manera inmediata y desaparece de forma instantánea”[6]. Los grandes ejemplos del autor son Netflix y el turismo, dos grandes productos de las últimas décadas, hoy todos aspiran a gastar/consumir en estos dos productos, sino no se tiene estas experiencias, falta algo en la vida, o así lo parece. El capitalismo en esta fase, necesita la obsolescencia de todo, y cada vez más, a medida que la masa es más grande. Pero este tipo de consumo trae problemas.
Este nivel de consumo, es imposible de sostener, el planeta no lo resiste. Y en esto es imposible discutir con el autor, la demanda de productos (muchos de ellos solo por el hecho de consumir, o sea productos nada relevantes) lleva a la sobre explotación de recursos; ni hablar si además se sobre explota para consumir y desechar en minutos. Sobre explotación y basura, nos habla de una crisis ecológica que hay que detener. Crisis medioambiental que no es nombrada por muchos en esta necesidad de renovar el socialismo o la izquierda, pero que es reconocida.
En este punto, es innegable la crisis medioambiental que genera el consumo; pero el autor no toma en cuenta otra cara de ello, que es la desigualdad que genera el acceso a ese consumo. La pandemia ha mostrado en países como Argentina, que el acceso a la tecnología no ha sido parejo, o sea que hay grandes sectores del mundo que ni siquiera pueden darse el lujo de llegar a esas experiencias o al consumo de productos obsoletos. No es menos importante para entender el mundo actual, esta cara del problema, muchísimos sectores excluidos del mercado, sin derechos, con necesidades, etc. Es parte del drama que vivimos.
Otra cara de este consumo alocado que plantea Harvey, producto de la necesidad de las tasas de crecimiento compuesto, nos lleva a una vida vacía, sin tiempo y bajo constante presión. Para el autor, la falta de tiempo libre es un problema: “Y una de las razones por las que la política es tan compleja es que las personas están tan atareadas todo el tiempo que no tienen tiempo de pensar, no tienen tiempo de reflexionar ni de organizarse políticamente”[7]. Esta vida se vuelve cada más difícil de ser vivida bajo esos parámetros, y Harvey toma un ejemplo que se relaciona con sus estudios, las ciudades: “cada vez más, la urbanización consiste en construir ciudades en las que las personas puedan invertir, y no en desarrollar entornos en los que se pueda vivir decentemente”[8], con lo que el autor llega a la conclusión de que los estallidos urbanos van a ser más comunes por temas como el transporte o la vivienda.
Para el autor sobran las razones para ser anticapitalista, y es un buen punto que diga anticapitalista, porque la mayoría reconoce que el problema es el sistema capitalista, pero no da habla de salir de él. Este punto fuerte hay que rescatarlo, si el sistema es el culpable, hay que cambiarlo. Y el autor enumera razones, como la falta de tiempo para ser, las malas condiciones de vida materiales y subjetivas incluso cuando materialmente no se tienen grandes problemas económicos, la crisis ecológica que degrada al planeta, y el mismo caos del sistema que permite las crisis. Una conferencia que deja pensando, que tiene algunas aristas importantes para pensar y profundizar. Harvey, a pesar del paso de los años, se niega a abandonar la causa por cambiar el mundo, y eso es lo que transmite. En momentos donde es importante volver a discutir algunas cosas, él aporta bastante en que pensar.
[1]Harvey, David: “Razones para ser anticapitalistas”, editorial CLACSO, 2020, BSAS. Página 29.
[2]Opcit página 36.
[3]Opcit página 37.
[4]Opcit página 39.
[5]Opcit página 54.
[6]Opcit página 55.
[7]Opcit página 63.
[8]Opcit página 64.
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