Re: standard of living?

Alan Spector wrote:

> The standard of living of the average family in the U.S. is up compared
> to 1945. And 1919. And 1776.
> But it is down compared to 1980. Some estimates are that it is at the
> level it was back in the middle 1960's. And this doesn't factor in the
> impact of multiple wage earners in families. I can't speak for some of
> the other countries listed, although much of the so-called "Third World"
> is worse off than 100 years ago, and most of Eastern Europe isn't doing
> too well either..I'm sure Japan is better off than 1945 also. Maybe even
> better of than 1980. But capitalism is a zero-sum game, despite the
> silly optimism of the "end of history" crowd. And big powers eventually
> bump heads. First economically. Then politically. Then militarily.

Alan, what is the basis for these rather odd claims about changes in the
standard of living?

And why do you say that capitalism is a game? That exchange is
positive-sum interaction, in an expectational sense, is a truism. To the
extent that capitalism consists of exchange in which people expect to
benefit, it also must be positive-sum interaction. I assume that you
mean that capitalism is something else. Could you explain?

Regarding Geoff Holland's remarks about South Korea, I suggest that he
compare South Korea before WWII with South Korea today. Or North Korea
today with South Korea today. Part of the growing pains for a capitalist
system is learning about the many ways one can make errors in business,
including the error of being cheated. The Asian financial crisis is
nothing more than a learning experience. True, when learning experiences
have such a large magnitude, people die. But people die of starvation
also. And the numbers are staggering.

For more on the crisis, see:

http://www2.cybercities.com/g/gunning/issues/ipe/asficris.htm

-- 
Pat Gunning, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Web pages on Subjectivism, Democracy, Taiwan, Ludwig von Mises,
Austrian Economics, and my University Classes
http://www2.cybercities.com/g/gunning/welcome.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/barclay/212/welcome.htm