I guess I'd have a slightly different answer. The autocentric economy seems derivative of the postwar import-substitutionist economy, which nobody is really doing much of anymore. Deregulation is happening almost at gunpoint. Manufacturing is becoming unambiguously more global. On the other hand, the growing service sector is largely based on local markets: Health care, retail and wholesale trade, transportation, telecommunications. The Japanese government's orientation toward these industries in the late 1980s probably explains a good part of why the Japanese economy is less and less export dependent. Even without such a policy, the US economy seems to be maintaining a stable level of import/export dependence. I think this is the major countervailing force against globalization today. Cheers, Tavis On Mon, 5 May 1997, James Devine wrote: > Doug asks: what is the opposite of globalization? > > To my mind, the opposite of globalization is the autocentric economy, where > (on the level of the economy as a whole, not for individual capitalists) > wages are treated as a source of demand and most investment goods are > purchased domestically. This economy's main sources of demand and > prosperity are domestic in nature. (It should be noticed that the > "autocentric" economy represents a collective good: individual capitalists > usually prefer to cut wages, even though it might hurt aggregate demand. > Thus, this type of economy is rare, depending on such conjunctural factors > as barriers to globalization (like tariffs and capital controls) and > Keynesian stabilization.) > > A globalized or dependent economy sees wages primarily as a cost, while > investment goods are largely imported. Prosperity comes primarily from net > export demand. I agree with Doug that a small country like New Zealand has > a hard time being anything but globalized. What's happened is a change in > the nature of that economy's globalization. > > This definition comes from Samir Amin and the dependency literature. > > > > > > in pen-l solidarity, > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. > 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA > 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 > "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way > and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A. > >
