Why do we still have capitalism? Because powerful forces will it to be.
Andrew mentioned that some who would create alternatives run roughshod
over people. Yes, but .... I wonder how much this behavior was a
response to threats imposed by the outside. Recall how quickly we interred
the Japanese, when the Japanese posed virtually no threat to the mainland.
The threat to the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Nicaragua was real. Very real.
As to values and prices, I agree with Andrew's scepticism except that I
think that the widening divergence between prices and values [without
analyzing the precise nature of the basis from which the divergence proceeds]
is important. Specifically, I am thinking in terms of prices moving via
speculation or competitive devaluations, such as Andrew himself has analyzed.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 916-898-5321
E-Mail michael@ecst.csuchico.edu