Jessop raises six questions:
1. Don't we have to tailor our economy to make it attractive to the rest of the world?
2. Doesn't natural attrition of price make the Just Price unnecessary?
3. Don't sales of used goods distort the picture?
4. "The only bank she knows is a pouch under her sleeping mat." How do we distribute a dividend in a primitive society?
5. What of the guy who would squander his leisure on, say, internet porn?
6. How does "knowledge work" fit into materials, energy, and time?
1. No, we don't. But if we make it work internally, it WILL be attractive to the rest of the world. As its consumer price index falls, its currency will wax against the dollar. As its credit system releases a huge energy of production that the credit system of every other country sabotages, it can be a very competitive exporter if it wants to be. And such a country will naturally attract capital--on our terms, not theirs.
2. Yes, and when that's not enough, bankruptcies. Wasn't it you, Jessop, who played devil's advocate and suggested wars were also part of a "natural" correction? Again, how do you know end-of-season sales, etc. give you a good price in relation to true cost structure? Maybe you are so used to overpaying that a moderate price looks good. If production is 95% waste, what then?
3. The prices of used goods wouldn't be included in Prices. If you sell me your car, one of us still has the money, and one has the car, and the money is still available to buy consumer goods. If you overcharge me, my loss is your gain, but the economy as a whole is unaffected. If I buy a used car from a dealer, the dealer should be regarded as an intermediary between the previous owner and me. The whole price of the car would not be included in Prices, but the price of the service would be. (The same applies to your previous question about stock trading. If you are the seller, and I am the buyer, the price affects our mutual standing but has no affect on purchasing power as a whole.)
4. Suppose she went to the Post Office and got paid in cash?
5. He must have his dividend. Not only that but as long as your porn business is legal, it must get the benefit of the compensated price the same as every other business. Douglas somewhere says that you catch a salmon by giving it line. We have to have a certain faith that people can mend (not necessarily in one generation) given a nonhostile environment. Abolish poverty first, and then see how many women WANT to be prostitutes and porn actresses.
6. "Knowledge" is a kind of capital and "knowledge work" is an expenditure of mental energy. The consultancy and service industry is like any other supplier of capital services.
Thanks for your questions. You have a great attitude!
Michael Lane
Triumph of the Past
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