Am I stuck in "Volume I" or did that old "naughty man" (as my 3-year old
daughter Sarah tells me as she looks at the Dancing Marx's on my URPE
t-shirt) say something about the real wage being "socially and historically"
determined?
Is it not obvious that the real wage would have to cover all the necessities
to reproduce labor. In the US the social (non-existent) infrastructure
shifts the burden on individuals (e.g., must have a car to get to work).
Part of the problem is what Maggie and Doug have suggested: 1) why do you
need a "big" car (8 mpg) when a "small" car will suffuce?; 2) you're not a
"real person" until you move up from a Toyota Tercel to a .... etc.
Consumerism is ingrained in our culture, much thanks to the socioeconomic
forces.
Are Americans ready to take on the values of Henry David T as opposed to
Lester (MI)T? Marx had some interesting things to say about this; Chomsky
has also alluded to the effects of advertising/corp propoganda, etc.
When one is spending 70, 80, 90 hrs per week working overtime to earn
$100,000, what's happening at home? Who's talking/reading to the kids? How
fast are you going to "depreciate" your body/mind so that your time value of
money approaches infinity (as you approach death)?
jason
