However, it is true that
>>capitalism has made possible a great increase in standards of living
>>for many millions. No one who has been bitten by the "Manifesto"
>>Marx will deny that. That still does not mean we have overcome
>>scarcity. Or ever will. --jks
>
>What do you think of Marshall Sahlins' argument?
>
>***** The Original Affluent Society
>
Sahlins argues athat hunter-gatherers worked a few hours a day and spent the rest of the time telling stories and hanging out, not a bad life (as long as there wasn't a famine or drought). The Sahlins argument is a favorite among the Live Simply crowd, who think that we can eliminate scarcity by reducing our wants. Theoretically, this is true. It is of course _profoundly_ anti-Marxist, for those of you who care about such things; Marx praised capitalism for its creation of nrew wants and needs. He thought that communism would be better than capitalsim at satisfyting these things. Me, I don't know. But I do know that the genie is out of the bottle. Short of a cataclysmic disaster, we will never be hunter-gathereras, and anyone who davocates reducing (as opposed to, say, rearranging) our needs and wants, will find a cold audience from contemprary workers an oppressed people.
--jks _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com