me:>>One of the nice things about this is that some of the scarcity-rent can be wasted without it being a horrible thing, though obviously the less waste, the better. <<
Julio:> It may be my temperament, but I tend to stress the exact opposite: The horrible thing about these oil rents is that they lead people to complacency by creating the impression that waste is affordable. < you're right, of course. But in context, I was discussing the likely small impact of not having economists on Chavez's team. >The oil rents appear to buffer or insulate the economy from the competitive pressures of the world market (which we may view as a subset of the pressures of the overall class struggle). But those pressures don't disappear just because you don't have them in sight. You ignore them at your peril. In fact, when they're visible it may be too late. < Yes -- Chavez, or rather the Venezuelans, MUST think ahead to the future, when oil prices are going to fall and the "free ride" provided by oil scarcity rents will disappear. >If the economy is not becoming more efficient (productive) at the pace of those leading the world market (actually, faster when you're trying to catch up), then it's effectively losing ground. And, of course, the other challenge is to *correctly* answer the question "productive of what?" -- which is the substance of the economic and political strategy of the revolution. (And strategy is not only *outcome* but also *process*, an aspect about which Michael Lebowitz should have much to say.) IMO, the most strict economic vigilance has to be in force all the time, whether the oil price is low or high. < right. -- Jim Devine / "There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity." -- Chester Bowles This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStrmeipper.htm
