C'mon. People who write from the left [Michael Moore] should be extremely careful with their facts. There's nothing worse than having some right-wing or centrist wiseguy point out all the errors.... Doug
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But in the end, does it really matter?
I am not arguing that the Left, if it is going to use empirical evidence to support its claims, that that evidence shouldn't be solid. On the other hand, it seems once in the empirical arena, no amount of evidence can ever be enough. And ultimately, in a sense the argument almost never really requires the support of empirical verification.
I am sure you've noticed that usually the `facts' are pre-constructed to reflect the points argued, then quickly the differently constructed measures are contested. Then the argument devolves into which of two or more measures best fits the reality.
Let's take an example that most on the list might actually want to argue, rather than the usual neoliberal globalization blather about free markets saving the poor or some such.
Dennis Redmond posted a list of machine tool production per capita per dollar output or something like that. The idea was a measure of which country produced the most machine tools for its own economic output. Switzerland was first, then western and central europeans were the next, with far east next, and the US down somewhere 17th, below Spain and the UK. (China wasn't listed---why?) This measure supports Dennis's contention that Empire is actually a bi-polar phenomenon shared between asia and europe and in which the US has almost disappeared as a major force.
What does machine tool production measure? In my view it measures two things. The degree/depth/sophistication of industrialization, and the degree/depth/sophistication of an economy's physical ability to change, customize and tailor its mass production systems. Switzerland at the very top, will seem an anomaly here, but I suspect there are reasons. One is the focus on an extremely high tech industrialization, and second a focus on very high grade products that require sophisticated machinery in limited production runs.. Instruments, instrumentation systems, machine tools, pharmaceuticals, and high end electronic and electro-mechanical devices have to be Switzerland's main product lines. (This is a guess, I didn't look it up. If you tell me pineapples, I'll shit)
Now, if I knew enough economics to argue, I would content, that despite this bi-polar shift to asia and europe, the whole reason the US is still Empire incarnate, is because of our neoliberal scam economy, where we excel in manipulating our capital and its markets to maximize our own otherwise materially decrepit economy. Somehow or other we have figured out how to buy a pseudo-economy and pretend we are on top of the world---and we are---despite every material measure that says otherwise---like the machine tool list, or our lower standards of living, higher infant mortality, poorer health, lower education and literacy (reflected on similar list rankings), and the forever disappearance of our manufacturing sector, etc.
So according to Dennis's tool list, we should be sucking big time. I actually agree, we do suck completely----yet I also know that somehow it doesn't matter because we have figured out enough ways to screw the rest of the planet out of their money and resources, so that we don't need machine tools, healthcare, good public schools, good standards of living, longer life expectancies, more freedom, earlier retirements, and a generally happier population. We can be on top and forget all that other shit---and we have.
Chuck Grimes
ps. on the other hand, it sure would be nice to verify it. Hmm....