Gintis: The Dialectics of Economic Growth

["RICHARD P.F. HOLT" <holtri@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Herb,
Years ago ( Actually I think it was 25 years ago :-)) you wrote a piece
called "The Dialectics of Economic Growth." In the article you said,
" Capitalism does not provide the social institutions for the derivation
of welfare from non-individual consumption activities. The lack of
functioning communities, solidary and non-alienating work environments,
etc., renders consumption activities the only feasible path to personal
well-being." At the end of the article you concluded: " Capitalist
economies grow, but they do not satisfy men's needs because the growth
is irrational. Irrationalities occur through destruction of residential
areas; irrationalities occur through the vast destruction of goods and
services in the military-industrial-space complex; irrationalities occur
through enforced obsolescence of commodities, style changes, and the
culturally enforced norms of conspicuous consumption; irrationalities
occur through the insufficient supply of important public services, such
as medical, child care, transportation, natural recreational areas."
Do you still believe this?
-Ric Holt
holtri@xxxxxxxxxxxxx