Ed, I thought what I was describing was much closer to what has existed in the Scandinavian countries for some time now. They manage to put limits on corporations and provide very impressive safety nets for all of their people in a way that contrasts dramatically with what exists in the United States with its shameful health statistics compared to the rest of the industrialized world. I just think there are things to be learned from this model, as imperfect as it is.
Selma ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ed Weick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Selma Singer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Arthur Cordell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Charles Brass" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 7:07 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] The world of work > > > Just for purposes of discussion- can we try to think 'outside the box' of > > capitalism as it exists today, especially in the U.S. > > > > Would most of you agree :-) (I don't know the symbol for tongue-in-cheek) > > that, with all due respect to Harry, it might be possibleto control > > capitalism so that it works for the good of the general public, including > > the capitalists? No, they would not be able to make their obscene profits > > and salaries; but could there be incentives such that creativity would be > > encouraged, especially since the risks would be reduced? > > > > Selma > > > > Selma, you're getting very close to what the Soviet Union was like. It > wasn't really communism, it was state capitalism which was supposed to > benefit everyone, but which in actual fact benefited some far more than > others. > > The Soviet Union started out as an ideal egalitarian state, but soon > demonstrated something that may be inherent in human nature, that people > will want to exercise control and will divide themselves into classes. > > Personally, I don't think there is any possibility of achieving anything > like benign, good for all capitalism. An individual company can perhaps > operate without too much internal conflict by making its employees its major > shareholders (United Airlines?), but, typically, that company has to operate > in a competitive market that is anything but benign and friendly. It may > have to cut costs and lay people off, just as privately held firms do. One > of the major things that was absent from the Soviet system was competition, > which would have made that system far more efficient and may have prevented > its collapse. > > One has to see society divided into interest groups. What is good for > capitalists is not necessarily good for labour and v.v. The only real hope > labour has is bargaining power > > Ed Weick > 577 Melbourne Ave. > Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 > Canada > Phone (613) 728 4630 > Fax (613) 728 9382 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
