>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>Subject: Re: "Punishment"? Re: Centralization
>Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 15:36:00 -0400
>
>Justin Schwartz wrote:
>
>>How? Btw the profit motive is also an incentive to make good shoes.
>
>And to cut costs mercilessly. Just ask Phil Knight.
>
>In this debate, you rely most on textbook stories of capitalism and horror
>stories of the worst of Soviet planning. That's not very "liberal," is it?
>
>Doug
Well, we're not supposed to talk utopia, but think about the institutional incentives for worker self-management. Is it realistic to suppose that cooperators in a shoe factory will act liker Phil Knight and pay they themselves 10c a day? They will find other ways to cut costs mercilessly, which is not a bad thing to do, other things being equal. This is supported by the data from actually existing coops--which, by the way, are no less profitable than capitalist enterprises.
Do you really want to continue this debate? Haven't you heard this already the last 50 or so times I said it? Then why doi you keep coming back with the same misunderstandings?
jks
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