valis wrote:
Is this comment (and I agree with the part about America) meant to support
orthodox revolution as an option, or does it intend something else?
I don't believe in the permanence of capitalism, if that's what you mean. But I do
not know, and I don't think anyone does, how things
Quoth Mark Jones, in conclusion:
The plain fact is that the German/Japanese mercantilist model has failed.
These countries are going to approximate more to the Anglo-Saxon
model. The idea that America can on the contrary be pushed in the direction of
socially-inclusive 'welfareist'
At 07:44 PM 3/17/98 +, Mark Jones wrote:
You need a long spoon to sup with the IBRD, it's true. However,
propaganda which relies upon publicly abandoning the most significant
indicator of market-driven progress is pretty double-edged. It's
tacitly abandoning the capitalist dream
Doug,
Would you say the same critical things about the UN's
Quality of Life Index (QLI)? BTW, those have generally
shown pretty good conditions for officially socialist
countries. Cuba does pretty well compared with other Latin
American nations. They even had North Korea about even
You need a long spoon to sup with the IBRD, it's true. However,
propaganda which relies upon publicly abandoning the most significant
indicator of market-driven progress is pretty double-edged. It's
tacitly abandoning the capitalist dream altogether.
Doug, do you know any insiders at
In a message dated 98-03-17 05:07:29 EST, you write:
definitely was going to sink?
However, if you consult the archives of Marxism-International, you will
see that the alternatives are what we talk about all the time.
M
Good, I am glad someone has it all worked out then.
Rosser Jr, John Barkley wrote:
Would you say the same critical things about the UN's
Quality of Life Index (QLI)? BTW, those have generally
shown pretty good conditions for officially socialist
countries. Cuba does pretty well compared with other Latin
American nations. They even had
Mark Jones wrote:
The fact is that GDP does not correlate in any definite way to welfare.
Even the World Bank recognises this, since it doesn't rely on GDP figures any
more as an idnex of client welfare. The trend to replace GDP with GPI (Genuine
Progress Indicator) ...
You've got to be
One of my reservations about the PPP technique is that I'm convinced that
the IMF and such use it to make global comparisons less embarrassing.
Zimbabwe's PPP at $2,030 sounds a lot better than its cash income at $540
(World Bank figures). Even so, Zim's PPP income was 8.6% of the US's in
1987,
I know this is going to sound hackneyed, but isn't 'And your alternative?'
more or less what Ismay asked the captain when told the Titanic
definitely was going to sink?
However, if you consult the archives of Marxism-International, you will
see that the alternatives are what we talk about all
Doug Henwood wrote:
One of my reservations about the PPP technique is that I'm convinced that
the IMF and such use it to make global comparisons less embarrassing.
Zimbabwe's PPP at $2,030 sounds a lot better than its cash income at $540
(World Bank figures). Even so, Zim's PPP income was
In a message dated 98-03-16 15:05:29 EST, you write:
Of course, the social market economy,
like
all the social-democratic fantasies which Dennis seems to share, are
forms of accommodation by corrupted proletariats to big capital, and
are
therefore obstacles to achieving socialism and nto
Some posts of mine are slow getting thru, but I've already now
commented at
length on the PPP question. However:
Dennis R Redmond wrote:
As Doug's post pointed out, the market GDP of Germany is, in per capita
terms, indeed much higher than that of the UK.
Less than $3k pa is so marginal as
Rakesh Bhandari wrote:
In terms of those figures does the Japanese GDP per capita income on the
basis of PPP remain almost 20% lower than the US?
Yes. US at $26,438, Japan at $21,795.
At any rate, it is a bit
obscene that the focus remains almost solely on such comparisons within the
imperial
On Sun, 15 Mar 1998, Mark Jones wrote:
The CIA world factbook (1995 figs which do not reflect recent devaluation
of the DM, appreciation of sterling) tells the following story:
GDP:
Germany: purchasing power parity - $1.4522 trillion (1995 est.)
western: purchasing power parity - $1.3318
Western German unemployment would be roughly 7%, if not for the annexation
of the former GDR.
Oh, one would have thought that as a result of the annexation growing
numbers of people, engaged in a more intensive division of labor, would
have have faciliated a growth in productivity which would
take on the ex-Axis powers is way too optimistic, but we have the OECD's
latest estimates of market and PPP figures, as well as the IMF's latest,
contradicting you. Has something happened in the last 6 months to turn this
all upside down?
In terms of those figures does the Japanese GDP per
Mark Jones wrote:
And the IMF has yet another set of data (more favourable to the UK,
too). Not sure what the point of this is except to show that figures can vary.
Yes, obviously, UK pc GDP is now higher than FRG, by ANY test, and 10 yrs
after
absorbing GDR, maybe it's not just tongue
.And the IMF has yet another set of data (more favourable to the UK,
too). Not sure what the point of this is except to show that figures can vary.
Yes, obviously, UK pc GDP is now higher than FRG, by ANY test, and 10 yrs after
absorbing GDR, maybe it's not just tongue in cheek of me to
Dennis R Redmond wrote:
Western German unemployment would be roughly 7%, if not for the annexation
of the former GDR. Britain's low unemployment is due to sleazy Tory
redefinitions of the unemployed and a vicious war on the poor, which have
driven people off the welfare rolls and into the nether
Dennis R Redmond wrote:
according
to the official OECD statistics -- about as mainstream as you'll ever find
-- the index of UK growth from 1989-96 was around 106 (meaning, the
economy was 6% larger in 1996 than in 1989) while the index of German
growth was around 112. Per capita GDP
On Sat, 14 Mar 1998, Mark Jones wrote:
Between 1995 2nd qtr and 1997 2nd qtr (IMF figs) UK interest rates
remained at 108-110 basis points above German long-term rates. In
the same period the pound rose from an average 2.20 DM to peak at
3.04 DM. The Italian lira in the same period
Dennis wrote:
Markets can be pretty irrational, not just for
months but for years.
This is a cop-out. Markets are neither rational nor irrational. They exist and
what occurs is susceptible of explanation.
Short-term bobs in interest rates aren't the same thing as long-term trends.
The
On Sat, 14 Mar 1998, Mark Jones wrote:
Germany is now a
balance of payments deficit country with high unemployment and low growth. The
UK by contrast recorded growth above trendline and a $6bn balance of payments
SURPLUS in 1997. The UK has the lowest unemployment rate in Europe and the
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