To some extent it is if trade is accounted for. OTOH outsourcing is complimentary to production, which is highly segmented (with detailed division of labor). This means firms produce some segment of final output and outsource others. However, tradtional merchant capitalism also involved putting out systems, which may not be the case in the "newer" version of merchant capitalism.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor Comparative International Development University of Washington 1900 Commerce Street Tacoma, WA 98402, USA Phone: (253) 692-4462 Fax : (253) 692-5718 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx On Sat, 29 Oct 2005, Michael Perelman wrote:
I was thinking about the meaning of outsourcing, which seems to turn old-line manufacturing corporations into merchant operations. could we be reversing the direction of history and moving back into merchant capitalism? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
