Re: Yet more equilibrium, stasis and death

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Power, as in market power. I'm reminded of Henry Ford's dismissal of the
need for unions by saying that any worker was free to negotiate a contract
with him. There's a lot more than "information flows" involved in wage
setting, and wage setting is one of the more important aspects of price
formation, socially and economically. Or how about the relation of modern
Ford Motor Co. to its suppliers? And what useful information is contained
in the gyrations of foreign exchange prices? Those are driven by the
emotions of large professional speculators, and the humble industrialist
or tourist simply goes along for the ride.

How are those examples for a start?

Doug

Doug Henwood [dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx]
Left Business Observer
212-874-4020 (voice)
212-874-3137 (fax)




On Mon, 24 Jan 1994 bcox@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >bcox@xxxxxxx touts the Hayekian shift from land-labor-capital to
> >information and knowledge. It's remarkable how all info-based theories of
> >modern capitalism, whether dreamt by Austrians or information industry
> >publicists, write power completely out of the picture.
>
> Which kind of power should I write in? Dictatorial power by an elite?
> Democratic power by the multitude? Or the power of organized modern
> society, mobilized by Hayek's price mechanism ... or <insert favorite
> organizing principle instead>.
>
> This isn't a flip comment. I really don't understand what kind of power
> you're referring to, and how you see it contributing to the matter under
> discussion.
>
> --
> Brad Cox; George Mason Program on Social and Organizational Learning
> Fairfax VA; bcox@xxxxxxx; 703 968 8229 voice 968 8798 fax
>
>