<Bradford DeLong>-----
> >Would it
> >be possible for us to have our standard of living if not for the exploitation
> >of much of the world?
>
> Well, since imports from countries with GDP per capita levels less
> than a third of the United States are about 1.5% of GDP, it would be
> possible. We'd lose a lot of Chinese-made toys and light consumer
> goods. We'd lose a lot of coffee, tea, and cocoa. But the modern
> world economy is just not very effective as a device for extracting
> surplus-value from impoverished peripheral workers and peasants and
> transferring it to the metropole...
where do opec countries stand in your picture ?
jc helary