Re: Alleged low East Asian unemployment

["Anthony D'Costa" <dcosta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

But what about household employment (subcontracting networks) which I
believe is quite rampant in East Asia (perhaps less so in Japan) and
these do not enter the statistics for a variety of reasons.  Relying
heavily on family labor is one such reason.  Therefore, while "sexism"
may reduce the statistic, unaccounted housework (for the market)
underestimates employment figures.  Thus, extending the liberal-western
"individualistic" axiom that both men and women should work for wages
misinterprets the really existing social organization in East Asia.  The
"family" is the basic unit, hence "sexism" while common in non-western
societies allows the family to cope better with capitalist
crisis of unemployment and alienation.

The liberal-left (especially of the post modern variety) and the die-hard
western bourgeoisie ought to re-assess the East Asian social institutions
that challenge the hegemony of western institutions.

Anthony D'Costa
U of Washington, Tacoma

On Mon, 7 Mar 1994 FAC_BROSSER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> (If this repeats a previous message, I apologize.  I'm
> having trouble sending messages out on this net, despite
> Michael Perelman's assistance.)
>      Sid Shniad reported an ILO study that suggests much
> lower unemployment rates in East Asia than elsewhere, notably
> Western Europe.  Although technically correct this is highly
> misleading.  In the case of Japan it is due to entrenched sexism
> that boots women out of the labor force when they get married,
> although this may be changing.  In any case, the percent of
> working age people not working in Japan is higher than it is
> in most Western Europe.  The nonworkers just are not seeking
> employment and thus are not in the official unemployment rates.
>      I agree that there is a general crisis of unemployment.
> Barkley Rosser
> Department of Economics
> James Madison University
> Harrisonburg, Virginia
> 22807 USA
>