From the October 18th report (PDF file) to the French Minister of Finance from Michel Camdessus, former head of the International Monetary Fund:
La logique de partage repose sur l’hypothèse qu’il existe, dans l’économie, une quantité d’emplois déterminée et fixe. Cette logique se vérifie, à un instant donné du temps, pour une activité, un secteur, une région particulière. Mais elle est fausse pour l’économie dans son ensemble, surtout quand on considère les évolutions dans le temps.
In plain English, Monsieur Camdessus is saying that advocates of reduced working time believe that there is only a fixed amount of work to be done. That is to say, we commit the infamous "lump-of-labor fallacy," the bogus claims of which your Sandwichman disposed of (another PDF file) four years ago.
The logic of work sharing IS NOT based on the erroneous assumption that there is only a fixed amount of work to be done. It is based on several factors, including the improved productivity enabled by reducing working time and the improved standard of living that greater leisure affords to the workers. Meanwhile, the almighty croissance of the GDP IS NOT, as the Camdessus report explicitly assumes, an unalloyed blessing to mother earth and all mankind. Bobby Kennedy knew that 36 years ago. The good folks at Redefining Progress can give you the details.
O.K. Monsieurs Camdessus and Sarkozy. Tom Walker's $5,000 (Canadian) says you can't verify the authenticity of the lump of labour fallacy claim. Anyone is eligible to try for that prize.
Posted by sandwichman at October 20, 2004 03:46 PMAnd BTW, Jerry Brown knew that 30 years ago. As Governor of Colorado he talked extensively about "psychic income". This is income associated with satisfaction, both on and off the job and should be on a par with monetary income. Ultimately, the only income that really matters is the income that's in your head, soul, and being. Many, if not most of us, are victims of the psychic disutility that we get from comparing our incomes with others without considering other non income factors. The growth mongers need this psychic disutility to keep the system going to their perceived benefit. Life without never ending growth is unthinkable.
Posted by: tom at October 25, 2004 08:45 PMI believe a person's job also helps teach them about the world.
If you have one job, you learn so much.
If you had four jobs, and did a different one each day, you'd learn that much more, while the system, of course, would bear some extra burden for the extra-training (and the extra excuses for being late "Oh, I thought it was tomorrow, so I went to tomorrow's job").
People may not be bright, but they learn well. Make them a cog in a machine (industrial employment) and that's how they will see themselves. Give them a number of roles and...
Posted by: Josh Narins at October 29, 2004 08:49 AM