Re: National Socio-Economic Security Need for Encryption Technology
Sandy Sandfort wrote:
I've just had an insight with regard to Bart's ongoing capital debate. In response to Perry's "green pylon" post, Bart wrote:
I am saying that the fact that American workers are better paid than workers in Third World countries, can be explained for a large part by the fact that there is much more capital invested in the US than in Third World countries.
Bart's error lies in his confusion of the terms "captial" and "capital investment." While capital may be used to make capital investments, there are other things it can be spent for as well (wages, taxes, supplies, etc.). If Bart were to use the term "infrastructure" then it would be clear that the ebb and flow of mere capital would have relatively little to do with infrastructure influenced wages.< What does 'capital' mean? The MacMillan dictionary of modern economics (3d edition, p. 51) says: 1) A word used to refer to a factor of production produced by the economic system. Capital goods are produced goods which are used as factor INPUTS for further PRODUCTION. As such capital can be distinguished from LAND and LABOUR which are not conventionally thought of as being themselves produced by the economic system. As a consequence of its heterogenous nature, the measurement of capital has become the source of much controversy 2) The word is also used as a term for financial ASSETS. So, I fear that it's Sandy who is confused about the meaning of the word 'capital', not me. But even if it is me who is confused about the meaning of the word 'capital' (which isn't the case), this confusion wouldn't affect my argument at all. If American capital is invested in foreign countries instead of in the US, then the total amount of capital invested in the US will be lower than it would have been if the capital had been invested in the US. So the wages in the US would be lower than they would have been if the capital had been invested in the US. The argument is still the same, and my question is still not answered. Bart Croughs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, On Thu, 15 Aug 1996, Bart Croughs wrote:
2) The word is also used as a term for financial ASSETS.
Dollar bills are a financial asset, but they are not a capital asset.
So, I fear that it's Sandy who is confused about the meaning of the word 'capital', not me.
Bart may fear all he wants, but he is still confusing the two meanings of the word.
But even if it is me who is confused about the meaning of the word 'capital' (which isn't the case), this confusion wouldn't affect my argument at all. If American capital is invested in foreign countries instead of in the US, then the total amount of capital invested in the US will be lower than it would have been if the capital had been invested in the US.
Here is where Bart's confusion lies. If he is talking about investment dollars, they none of his Austrian quotes bear any relationship to his conclusion. If he is talking about shipping steel mills overseas, there might be some justification, but I don't think that's what he is talking about. Finally, he as not shown why US investors would move their capital (of whatever nature) from non-competitive US companies to foreign ones. As I said in a previous post, the most likely to happen is that US investors will move their capital (of whatever nature) from non-competitive US companies to other US companies that do enjoy a competitive advantage. On a personal note: Bart the people on this list are highly intelligent. Many if not most are students of Austrian economics. By the tone of your posts my best guess is that you are young (20's?) and have little practical experience in "the real world." This is not a crime, but it's no great honor either. The people you have been tilting with are not arguing just to be arguing. They have a firm grasp of the subject matter and fine analytical minds. Your arguments to authority are okay, but you show a serious intellectual inflexiblity. I sincerely suggest you reconsider your demeanor on this list to date, and work to improve it. Don't waste your reputation capital being a jerk. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
participants (2)
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Bart Croughs -
Sandy Sandfort