On Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 9:08 AM, Carrol Cox <[email protected]> wrote: > raghu wrote: >> We have had this discussion on PEN-L before. And I haven't seen anyone >> refute it convincingly. The average American does, in fact, >> over-consume. Perhaps less so than rapacious corporations, but still.. > > Has anyone in those previous discussions made the point that both > "overconsumption" and "underconsumption" are nonsense ters. There is > only consumption, and it is merely a personal prejudice of an observer > that can speak of that consumption being "over" or "under." Your > proposition is neither correct nor incrroect. It is literal non-sense > (or empty).
I agree with Jim partly. But I disagree on one point. Jim uses the consumption level required to maintain high employment as a reasonable reference point. But there is another much more fundamental and objective baseline we can use, which is the consumption level that is long-term sustainable i.e. over a period of several centuries. Under this standard, it is not only not "non-sense", but quite obviously true that the current average American consumption levels are excessive. -raghu. -- "As a matter of fact, no, I don't have a life." _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
