Doug wants to if pay and productivity wage is sustainable. I think it
is, as long as there is abundant labor--articulation of the modes of
production a la Rey if you will. South Korea of course is increasingly
facing a labor shortage, relatively speaking hence there is pressure on
the part of SK capital to automate, diversify, and seek low wage sites--a
practice already well honed by the Japanese. At the same time the
weakening of the authoritarian regime and increasing labor militancy has
created the basis for higher wages. Class war is very much alive and well.
In India, on the other hand, availability of raw labor (often under
semi-feudal conditions) combined with state subsidized education creates
the possibility of low wages and high productivity. Urban
wages continue to outstrip rural wages, while sector-specific
manufacturing such as software command high wages. But
given the liberalization trends, and increasing cross-border flows,
such high wages turn out to be about a tenth of what a US software
engineer might get with the same if not less educational
qualifications. What is interesting in all of this is that US firms
are increasingly entering the software market in India, using often US
mainframes which are available in India when it is night-time in the US!
The porosity of the working day (flexible systems) is quite apparent.
Furthermore, while Japanese firms are largely absent, Singapore is
planning to set up an software industrial park in India. I am only
relying on nespaper reports but these are certainly interesting
developments in the larger scheme of capitalist expansion.
Anthony
PS: Doug send me your snail-mail address and a sample copy of LBO.
