>Everyone says this, but is it really true? Looking around my room here I
>see: a Macintosh G3, a Sony monitor, a pile of Zip disks, an HP laser
>printer, a Supra modem, a Sony boombox, another Macintosh and its Sony
>monitor, a Sharp fax machine.... all of them produced in mass quantities.
>And piles of books and periodicals, also produced in mass quantity. Has
>anyone ever demonstrated this assertion rigorously, or is it just another
>one of those things we "know"?
As usual, Doug puts the question well. I don't agree with Madrick's
fantastic claim that the mass of consumers are now demanding that goods be
produced in craft-like fashion (there may be more frequent superficial
design changes, producing the illusion of the end of standardized goods?);
anyways, Madrick's story about the new economy only seems another version
of that childish dogma that consumers, albeit more sophisticated ones,
determine the nature, volume and quality of production. Perhaps however
non-price competition is indeed stronger in the producer good industries,
the buyers of such goods being Madrick's kind of sophisticated buyers whose
concern, needless to say, is to increase profits. Again if there has been
relative increase in such production within the US, perhaps this would
account for some of changes to which Madrick is referring. Just a guess.
Rakesh
