On Dec 14, 2006, at 11:10 AM, Jerry Monaco wrote:
> 1) Is it always inefficient?
I never say always (though I suppose I should never say never either), but it mostly is. Isn't there a footnote in K v 1 where Marx wrote about how planters wouldn't have slaves work with anything but the crudest equipment because of the risk they'd sabotage it?
> 3) A modest proposal: Treat the labor power and bodies of people as
> a "bundle of property rights" and then you can contract for the
> future use and/or destruction of their eyes, kidneys, livers,
> hearts, lungs, etc. and get rid of them when they are useless.
> What a great way to treat the prison population or not have to
> worry about the health of a mine worker.
Speaking of prisons, that's another example of the superiority of "free" labor: despite the leftist cliche, the use of convict labor hasn't really taken off because the workers just aren't motivated or productive enough. The "free" worker is always afraid of ending up on the sidewalk, but when you ain't got nothin' you got nothin' to lose.
Doug