--- "Devine, James" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Mike B. writes: > >I'm wondering about these pressures to cut costs > which > Chomsky refers to. Don't they lead to the big, nice > co:operative having to try to find cheaper sources > of > material via low wage, usually dictatorial political > states?< > > FWIW, David Schweikert's "market socialist" utopia > of worker-managed co-operatives has two major > institutions that are aimed at preventing the > co-ops' profit-maximization from turning into this > kind of thing: > > 1) a minimum wage, so that profit-max doesn't > involve co-ops competing via a race to the bottom > among themselves. > > [I think there must also be some rule about not > hiring non-co-op members to do work. But I don't > remember it.} > > 2) a special tariff on imports from countries that > don't live up to labor standards. In this case, the > revenues collected by making these imports more > expensive to domestic consumers are supposed to be > returned to the country whose imports are taxed as a > lump sum (development aid). > > Jim Devine
Thanks Jim. These reforms sound very nice and I'm sure that most people would be happier if they were put in force. Still, I remain sick to death of the poltical-economy of commodity production. Best, Mike B) ===== **************************************************************** ...the safest course is to do nothing against one's conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death. Voltaire http://profiles.yahoo.com/swillsqueal __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com