[lbo-talk] How much do college students...

[David Green]

SA wrote:
 
"If skills had nothing to do with productivity, then wouldn't you expect to see 
GE building factories in the poorest countries with the lowest wages - e.g., in 
Africa, Central America, the Mideast, Central Asia? Instead, they build them in 
Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Malaysia - countries with much higher wages. The 
business people involved in those decisions usually say skill levels have a lot 
to do with these decisions."
 
DG responds: So how skilled do American workers need to get to get these jobs?
 
SA, I understand the definition of productivity, and I understand that certain 
basic skill levels are necessary for increases in productivity, as is better 
equipment, etc. But I don't understand claims that marginal differences in 
educational attainment among developed nations explain differences in 
productivity, employment, wages, etc. It seems obvious to me that these 
differences are political. So why is so much attention devoted to marginal 
differences in educational attainment among developed nations? "Human capital" 
theory exists in order to avoid fundamental realities of capitalist 
exploitation. Why would anyone on a leftist listserv want to indulge that line 
of thinking?
 
David Green