(OPE-L) Re: an empirical question re socialism

[gerald_a_levy <gerald_a_levy@xxxxxxx>]

It occurs to me now that an even simpler way to

get rough estimates for this would be to

calculate:

 

         global GNP

     ------------------------

     global population

 

and:

     

       global wealth

    -------------------------

    global population

 

The latter figure might be more useful but statistics

on national wealth are more difficult to obtain than

statistics on national income.

 

I recognize that there are problems with GDP

including not taking into account most goods and

services that are not for sale,  ignoring the

underground economy,  and not taking into

account external costs, but these problems

wouldn't make the statistics meaningless as all

that one would want for the purposes at hand is

a rough estimate.  Alternatively, one could try

to adjust GDP figures to account for these

problems if one views them as statistically

significant -- which some of them, e.g. the

underground economy, probably are.

 

After one had these numbers then one could make

estimates about what goods and services a global

socialist society could afford to provide for its citizens

given whatever the current state of the productive forces

is.

 

Okay,  the above is probably too simple.  Please explain

why.

 

In solidarity, Jerry