capital-savings

[djones@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (rakesh bhandari)]

I thought perhaps one of the value theorists may want to comment on this:

>From GLOBAL KEYNESIANISM IN THE WINGS by James K. Galbraith

"The information technologies do not require enormous amounts
of capital (their prices have been falling at 15 per cent per year
for several decades), and have greatly increased our reach and
efficiency, improving everyone's living standards. Transportation,
materials science and many manufacturing processes are also all
improving rapidly. Indeed, the extraordinary cheapness of new
productive technology is perhaps the single defining feature of our
age. Since few have grasped this point, let me try to explain what
it means.

It means that we do not need as much saving, or as much
financial investment, as we once did. It means we can afford to
spend more, not less, on public amenities for the middle class and
minimum living standards for the poor. We can also afford to pay
more in wages, especially minimum wages. It means we can invest and
lend more abroad, to help and benefit from development in poor
countries, with more dramatic results than ever before. We can do
more to maintain and improve the environment, both at home and
abroad,  taking advantage of the fact that new technologies are not
only cheap, but often comparatively more energy-efficient and clean
than the old technologies"

This essay was published in the World Policy Journal, Vol XII, No
3, Fall 1995, PP 65-70, and is copyright 1995 by the World Policy
Institute. Permission is granted to make copies and to circulate
electronically for non-commercial purposes, provided a copy of
this notice accompanies all copies made. Comments are welcome to
the author at <Galbraith.James@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> or to the World
Policy Journal at <Pera@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>.







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