Re: CJE 2001 critical review of trade theory and policy

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Unemployment (and underemployment
which is a technical form of unemployment), is the black death of prosperity. 
Any economic system that requires unemployment to preserve the value of
money (combating inflation) is merely keeping the plague epidemic alive
in hope of keeping the population healthy.  The right of all to productive
and fulfilling work is sacrosanct.  Full employment must be a prerequisite
for any social contract that mandates any particular economic system. Full
employmenht must be an uncompromised goal.  Any economic system that
institutionalizes unemployment as a policy tool does not deserve support.

Henry C.K. Liu

pdavidso wrote:

>===== Original Message From Warren Mosler <mosler@xxxxxxxx> =====
>g kohler wrote:
>
>> The Cambridge Journal of Economics 2001 has an interesting critical
>> review article on trade theory and policy. Any comments?
>> Gert Kohler
>
>I keep returning to 'fundamentals.'  Without 'full employment' at the
national level
>(which
>no nation has) free trade promotes an international 'race to the bottom' for
real wages,
>
>and not the benefits of 'comparative advantage.'  None of the authors use
that as a
>starting
>point, so to defend free trade with unemployment the norm is as hopeless as
being
>critical
>of free trade in general.

Well said Warren!!

I am always amazed that so-called Keynesians -- including some Post Keynesians
do not realize that the law of copmarativ advantage is the open economy model
equivalent of Say's Law is to the closed economy model.

Paul

Both Say's Law and comparative advantage are special cases in which the
unemployment problem can not exist.

Paul
>
>www.mosler.org

Paul Davidson
Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
University of Tennessee
SMC 523
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0550
phone # (865)974-4221; fax #(561)737-8262;
email pdavidson@xxxxxxx
http://econ.bus.utk.edu/davidsonextra/Davidson.html