> Just as wages drop, prices will drop. Remember, jobs don't vanish, but
> rather low wages make a job worthless. And the lower the price level, the
> more worthwhile low wages are. So people will use their lower wages to buy
> goods at a lower price.
You and I are already in agreement. In fact I appreacite the insights you have
brought to the table. I am playing devil's advocate with the other
free-marketeers to see how solid the ground of their assumptions are, and if
they can withstand debate. Many of them are either not up to the challenge I
am giving, or they conclude that we must increasingly work harder in order to
keep up, or perish.
A point they seem to overlook, is if the overall economy and means of
production are accelerating, why then would a increasingly larger segment have
to work harder just to keep up? Simple mathematics tells us that either more
and more people will be better off (as you have eloquently demonstrated), or
conversely a decreasingly smaller elite grabs the whole pie.
If their conclusion is the latter, then it's a major blow to any free-market
principle. At this point, why would the rest of us give a damn about
free-markets when it means increasing numbers of people will suffer? If they
are standing behind their principles of insisting on free-markets despite the
large loss of human life, what does this say about them? This is the *real*
isssue I'm forcing.
Cheers,
Paul Hughes