capitalist doublespeak

[Victor Milne]

The traditional defence of capitalism is that because of competition [for the purchasing power of the consumer] good products are produced at the lowest possible price.   However, that seems to no longer be the meaning of competition, as witness these excerpts from a business story in the Toronto Star on December 19, 2000:   "Aetna Inc. said yesterday it plans to cut 5,000 jobs or 13 per cent of its work force ... as the number 1 US health insurer looks to cut costs and boost profits.   "Aetna also said it would apply big price hikes on health plans renewing Jan. 1, 2001, to improve profitability.   "The moves are part of a drive to restore 'Aetna as a major competitive force with industry-leading financial performance and a heightened ability to serve our customers effectively,' Aetna president and chief executive John Rowe said in a statement."   This is by no means the first time that I have seen this usage of "competitiveness" to mean high profitability, a meaning that is pretty much diametrically opposed to the classical meaning of low consumer prices. It is also far from clear how staff cuts are going to result in "heightened ability to serve customers effectively.