Making Rich People Richer Doesn't

The Washing Machine Changed The World More Than The Internet.

It Takes Time And Experience To Absorb New Technologies, So Technologically Backward Producers Need A Period Of Protection From International Competition During This Period Of Learning. Such Protection Is Costly, Because The Country Is Giving Up The Chance To Import Better And Cheaper Products. However, It Is A Price That Has To Be Paid If It Wants To Develop Advanced Industries.

Above A Certain Level Of Income, The Relative Value Of Material Consumption Vis-a-vis Leisure Time Is Diminished, So Earning A Higher Income At The Cost Of Working Longer Hours May Reduce The Quality Of Your Life. More Importantly, The Fact That The Citizens Of A Country Work Longer Than Others In Comparable Countries Does Not Necessarily Mean That They Like Working Longer Hours. They May Be Compelled To Work Long Hours, Even If They Actually Want To Take Longer Holidays.

Gore Vidal, The American Writer, Once Described The American Economic System As 'free Enterprise For The Poor And Socialism For The Rich'. Macroeconomic Policy On The Global Scale Is A Bit Like That. It Is Keynesianism For The Rich Countries And Monetarism For The Poor.

Between The Great Depression And The 1970s, Private Business Was Viewed With Suspicion Even In Most Capitalist Economies. Businesses Were, So The Story Goes, Seen As Anti-social Agents Whose Profit-seeking Needed To Be Restrained For Other, Supposedly Loftier, Goals, Such As Justice, Social Harmony, Protection Of The Weak And Even National Glory.