>Not only does it more or less discredit itself-- being based on a Post
>hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy-- but rarely is there any actual economic
>reasoning presented to back it up.
>
The only thing I have to add to your very clear and eloquent argument
(which is now part of my permanent collection) is this.
I have worked in the Capitalist coporate world most of my adult life -- in hi tech. In this particular realm "productivity" translates into endless life-grinding churn for the grunts, most of which is entirely unnecessary. That is, 90% of hi tech is dedicated to privatizing (enclosing) something that by its nature should be completely open and standardized. Therefore 90% of the work is a total and complete waste. That's on the part of the producers; but it translates into a similar waste of time for the consumers, who have to deal with many different constantly changing interfaces.
What further contributes to inefficiency is that fact that the people who make the decisions (upper management) are many, many layers away from reality (the work).
Joanna