Seattle & Henwood

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

I just happened to be reading "The Nation Indicators" by Doug in the Dec.
6, 1999 issue of _The Nation_ today.  The article & graphs show that, in
very recent years, unemployment has gone down and average weekly earnings
have gone up while the gap between rich and poor has further widened in the
USA.  Isn't this mix the most likely recipe for an upsurge in left-wing
activism?

On PEN-L, we've had an argument as to what "development" means, whether
things have on the whole become better or worse for the masses of people,
etc.  Doesn't Seattle vindicate the perspective on economy that zeroes in
on contradiction (e.g. rising GDP, decreasing unemployment, slow increases
in wages, widening gap between rich and poor, etc.) while being on the
lookout for an _uptick_ (as opposed to emphasizing only the indicators that
show things are getting worse)?

Yoshie