Suchergebnisse

The Campaign for Economic Democracy, while recognizing the fundamental problems of the shareholder-run large corporation, has chosen an inappropriate solution -- large corporations run by "stakeholders" (employees, local community & government representatives, activists, etc). The problems of the present system lie in the unwillingness of educated workers to be organized from above & the unsuitability of hierarchical management when both manufacturing & clerical tasks are largely automated. Employers have attempted to solve the first problem by importing immigrant workers, exporting industry to the south, or initiating worker participation schemes, none of which has worked. Since the optimum size for a participatory group is 12 people or fewer, such groups might be organized as "minifirms." This approach could lead to a higher level of entrepreneurism & innovation, achieved through the use of automation. Such approaches as subcontracting & franchising could be used to incorporate this improved design into industrial enterprise. W. H. Stoddard.

I am going to touch on three topics that bear heavily on the fortunes of Pacific countries: the so-called energy crisis, the economic prospects of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and neighboring countries, and the implications of Chairman Hua's presumed pragmatism. I find myself holding unusual views on all of them.Until 1973 I thought there might be a shortage of energy in the 1980's because energy was so obviously being temporarily underpriced. Since 1973 I have believed there is more likely to be a glut of energy in the 1980's because energy is being temporarily overpriced.The possibility that OPEC might be able to maintain its cartel has, admittedly and unhappily, been increased by President Carter's and Congress's energy policies. These policies seem to me (although I know many who disagree) to be a glum example of the way in which politicians' misunderstandings now override economic logic and history's lessons.

As a journalist whose job it is to check facts against politicians' promises and public servants' continuing prejudices, I doubt whether modern history is moved much by slogans. Interdependence versus self-reliance, the supposed conflicts of the Chinese Way (egalitarianism, autarchy, underconsumption) versus the Japanese Way (growth, trade, investment)— all give way, I suspect, to changing precepts that bring successes.