At 10:03 07/02/2005, charles wrote:
"Looking ahead, he added: "You know they haven't run out of labor yet, the
portion that can come out of the agriculture sector" was still
considerable."
^^^^^^
CB: Ah,but so what ? Is labor a significant source of values ? Does
labor-time have any significance with respect to prices ?
Bill doesn't worry about such arcane matters. What interests him is the
size of the reserve army (although the article makes clear he also likes
the way the state is being used on behalf of the rising bourgeoisie).
michael
________________________________
China has created brand-new form of capitalism: Bill Gates
01-29-2005, 13h32
Pierre Verdy - (AFP)
DAVOS, Switzerland, (AFP) - US software giant Bill Gates has high praise for
China, which he says has created a brand-new form of capitalism that
benefits consumers more than anything has in the past.
"It is a brand-new form of capitalism, and as a consumer its the best thing
that ever happened," Gates told an informal meeting late Friday at the World
Economic Forum in this ski resort.
He characterised the Chinese model in terms of "willingness to work hard and
not having quite the same medical overhead or legal overhead".
Manufacturers have created "scale economies that are just phenomenal", in
part owing to companies there and elsewhere on the planet designing good
products, Gates said.
Looking ahead, he added: "You know they haven't run out of labor yet, the
portion that can come out of the agriculture sector" was still considerable.
"It's not like Korea, Korea got to a point where, boom, the wages went up a
lot," he said, adding "that's good, you know, they got rich and now they
have to add value at a different level.
"They're closer to the United States in that sense than they are to where
China is right now."
Gates continued by heaping praise on the current generation of Chinese
leaders.
"They're smart," he said with emphasis.
"They have this mericratic way of picking people for these government posts
where you rotate into the university and really think about state allocation
of resources and the welfare of the country and then you rotate back into
some bureaucratic position."
That rotation continued, Gates explained, and leaders were constantly
subjected to various kinds of ratings.
"This generation of leaders is so smart, so capable, from the top down,
particularly from the top down," he concluded.
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Currently based in Venezuela. Can be reached at
Residencias Anauco Suites
Departamento 601
Parque Central, Zona Postal 1010, Oficina 1
Caracas, Venezuela
(58-212) 573-4111
fax: (58-212) 573-7724
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Currently based in Venezuela. Can be reached at
Residencias Anauco Suites
Departamento 601
Parque Central, Zona Postal 1010, Oficina 1
Caracas, Venezuela
(58-212) 573-4111
fax: (58-212) 573-7724
