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Hi Eva et al,
>..................... the presumable implication
>> >would be a regressive surcharge on some consumer goods that
>> >again puts the onus for today's socioeconomic problems on the
>> >victims of class-ruled society--on workers who under capitalism
>> >have little say in what is produced or under what conditions
>> >production is accomplished.
>>
>> No. Not surcharges on consumer goods, but price structiures which
>> reflect the true lifecycle costs of products and FUELS.
>>
>>
>
>the result would be extra taxes on consumer goods, surely, and that
>was the point: the process of taking from the lower earners
>and gaining by the upper ones would go on.
>
>Eva
>
>...
>
>> Caspar Davis
Eva, you have a one track mind. ;-)
The problems of today have multiple causes and should be approached
in multiple ways. The economic system of each country/area are
different and, likewise, the political environment varies. This
is especially true among more and less developed regions.
The need for setting prices according to the true life cycle costs
is their in all types of economic systems. So is the need to diffuse
economic and political decision-making. Human rights are needed
everywhere as is a need to protect other species.
Profit is what drives all economic systems. The differences are in
the ways we define and use the term. Capitalists measure profit
in bottom line cash flow terms. Others consider other variables
such as depletion of resources, health, free time and social
satisfaction. Dictators use social control as their definition.
I live in the US and know few details of the current economic
environment in Europe, but I have been told that many EU countries
have a history of more social concern for their citizens than the US
does today. Will this change (on either side)? I hope that the US
electorate will swing back towards a more inclusive, caring voting
pattern. To do so will require taking back the media from the large
TNCs that control it now.
This is being done, in part, by using the internet for information
dissemination, bypassing the normal 'media'.
I see this trend increasing and that is why I belong to this and other
lists. I also belong so that I can engage in the debate on where we
should go. My TV watching is limited to football games. The TV news
is useless except for weather reports.
Dennis Paull
Los Altos, California
