Perelman has previously mentioned his forthcoming book on <a href="http://econospeak.blogspot.com/2008/08/irrelevance-of-workers-in-economic.html";>the irrelevance of workers in economic theory</a>. Yesterday, I received a note from David Spencer about his forthcoming book, <a href="http://www.routledgeeconomics.com/books/The-Political-Economy-of-Work-isbn9780415457934";>The Political Economy of Work</a>, which is due out in about a week.
Everybody knows that the BIG BAILOUT heralds "the most radical regime change in global economic and financial affairs in decades." But what has it all got to do with work and workers? Higher unemployment? Increasing cost of living? Quite possibly those things -- but another as yet unspoken dimension of the collapse-and-bailout of the financial system and its impending re-regulation is that it authorizes a re-opening of debate about the regulation of labor markets. Until recently, the official Anglo-American journalistic line on labor market regulation was that it was bad. Europeans had to liberalize their labor markets or risk falling further and further behind the dynamic US economy. Well, now we know -- as some of us have been pointing out all along -- that the dynamism was contrived. It is time to re-assess ALL the hoary myths about the inherent superiority of "free markets", including that one. -- Sandwichman _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
