tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post9139161221315517851..comments2024-03-23T04:01:39.348-04:00Comments on Understanding Society: Marx on a global wageDan Littlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-65643677706253426842010-12-06T13:39:06.000-05:002010-12-06T13:39:06.000-05:00One solution I have always wondered about is the p...One solution I have always wondered about is the passage of a global minimum wage. I realize it sounds far fetched and might be nearly impossible to enforce but I think it would be an interesting topic to explore.<br /><br />Can anyone here recommended any journal articles or books that discuss the concept?Lazaro Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128756150846541884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-84299835074071266092010-12-03T13:32:55.919-05:002010-12-03T13:32:55.919-05:00If the size of the pie is fixed, then yes, dividin...If the size of the pie is fixed, then yes, dividing the pie among more workers means the slices get smaller. But the size of the pie is NOT fixed.<br /><br />What matters is not so much whether there is a global wage, but what that wage can buy. Some commodities (oil especially) may indeed become more more expensive for the average American due to competition from workers from the rest of the world, but this may be offset by rapid reduction in price for finished goods that are currently expensive. For example, we may see robots building lightweight cars and standardized housing, so that cars and housing become very cheap (for all workers, American and Chinese alike), while the fuel to run the cars or heat the houses becomes much more expensive.frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-67655108194055823662010-12-03T13:31:23.315-05:002010-12-03T13:31:23.315-05:00If the size of the pie is fixed, then yes, dividin...If the size of the pie is fixed, then yes, dividing the pie among more workers means the slices get smaller. But the size of the pie is NOT fixed.<br /><br />What matters is not so much whether there is a global wage, but what that wage can buy. Some commodities (oil especially) may indeed become more more expensive for the average American due to competition from workers from the rest of the world, but this may be offset by rapid reduction in price for finished goods that are currently expensive. For example, we may see robots building lightweight cars and standardized housing, so that cars and housing become very cheap (for all workers, American and Chinese alike), while the fuel to run the cars or heat the houses becomes much more expensive.frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-39468433116444194912010-12-02T04:39:11.033-05:002010-12-02T04:39:11.033-05:00Marx had the picture upside down. The general tend...Marx had the picture upside down. The general tendency is for wages in China to RISE to the levels of more developed countries: http://timworstall.com/2010/08/19/ive-said-this-before/<br /><br />Some particular trades in the West may suffer, so there is a role for support and re-training, but as a whole workers benefit.nickhttp://www.backlash-uk.org.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-13842071236475834412010-12-02T04:00:10.113-05:002010-12-02T04:00:10.113-05:00In fact, we may be vastly underestimating the pote...In fact, we may be vastly underestimating the potential of technology to replace both low and high skill jobs. <br /><br />For one perspective on what the future will look like, check out this book (available at Amazon or as a free pdf):<br /><br />The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future<br /><br />http://www.thelightsinthetunnel.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-52581175439523957862010-12-02T03:56:31.486-05:002010-12-02T03:56:31.486-05:00Two points about higher skills:
Many skills are s...Two points about higher skills:<br /><br />Many skills are skills of doing, not formal learning (no-one becomes a skilled carpenter, machinist or production-line manager by going to university). If you transfer the manufacture, you transfer the skills - and the further development of the skills (as with cars and Japan).<br /><br />Also - what stops other workforces climbing the skills ladder? This happened in Germany, Japan and Singapore, and is happening in China and India.<br /><br />To keep the whole thing going you need to assume there is no upper bound to production or wants. But there is - one set by the ability of the earth to support human production. So you have to stop sometime.<br /><br />The issues then become when you stop (with what margin for safety), and how you distribute. Current trends suggest we are some way from seriously addressing either.Peter Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13289172253358199028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-34260367619212652372010-12-01T23:05:44.929-05:002010-12-01T23:05:44.929-05:00And what about the new trend of highly skilled and...And what about the new trend of highly skilled and educated pools of Indian workers who sell their labor at a lower cost? Seems like there needs to more of a solution than just simply trying to make up the slack with more highly educated workers. Seems like that Marx guy was arguing for something much more than that.Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04604847159462215168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-55406148212156063872010-12-01T17:35:45.551-05:002010-12-01T17:35:45.551-05:00"The only way of maintaining a high wage for ..."The only way of maintaining a high wage for workers is on the basis of a given workforce possessing the ability to accomplish production tasks on the basis of non-generalized knowledge and skill."<br /><br />The 'only' way? You are asserting the answer, not justifying it. <br /><br />Some people assert that rising inequality in the USA reflects skill premiums. But inequality has soared at the very top, a tiny fraction, and the skill premium between the top quarter per cent and half per cent is meaningless. <br /><br />No, these premiums come from rents extracted by elites. These are political as well as economic processes. The economic system delivers its fruits (riches) to those with the power to manipulate streams of power and profit. <br /><br />I would not assume that the global economy you prefer has the force of a natural order. It does not. It has the force of political elites. If its fruits are not fairly distributed, it may well disintegrate, without regards for 'skill premiums'.minkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04067741747813131873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-33728199796451457732010-12-01T17:04:48.539-05:002010-12-01T17:04:48.539-05:00This isn't like the law of gravity. The tenden...This isn't like the law of gravity. The tendency expresses itself, only if no contravening effort is made, such as, for instance, reducing hours of work in the more advance nations.<br /><br />The descent of American wages to that of china, therefore, is being deliberately facilitated by Washington economy policy circles.Charleynoreply@blogger.com