Word: harrisons
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UNFORTUNATELY, Bluestone and Harrison's own prescriptions don't measure up to the provocative task set by their analysis. Their criticism of Thurow and Rohatyn's schemes for government-directed investment in promising new "sunrise" industries--that neither provides any guarantee that companies will actually use public capital productively--is well-taken. So is their observation that going down the "Japan, Inc." route probably involves more social regimentation than Americans would tolerate. But their program, however, is not new; it's the familiar "economic democracy" laundry list: a reinvigorated welfare state; national anti-plant closing legislation; public control over "sunrise...
...Rhetoric: Bluestone and Harrison just can't resist quoting Marx in support of their plan. When are well-intentioned left-wing intellectuals ever going to learn to speak in terms that don't alienate the very working people they're trying to influence...
...Constituency: The two economists commit a left-wing version of the Japan-worship error in citing Swedish socialism as a model of "humane" industrial policy. American workers would probably resist Japan-style regimentation; but they have some pretty strong anti-collectivist traditions as well. Bluestone and Harrison simply gloss over this obstacle to an American movement for worker's control. And in a near-depression, workers are bound to look askance at any thing that sounds more risky than a job offer...
...Leadership: Of course, deficiencies in working-class consciousness could always be made up for by vigorous, enlightened leadership--a role that Bluestone and Harrison want to assign to the unions. But most union leaders are running scared themselves, trying to sell their shrinking memberships on wage concessions in order to protect vanishing jobs. Indeed, after the United Steelworkers' rank and file did raise its voice, rejecting a proposed give back contract, union leaders cut back the role of rank-and-file representatives in collective bargaining...
...just too big an agenda: No matter how well organized, workers would face some pretty tough obstacles putting the Bluestone-Harrison scheme into law. Bluestone and Harrison seem to think that democratic politics is a simple matter of who has more votes. The more complicated reality is that corporations still have plenty of cards to play. Indeed, as the authors point out themselves, they are busily working to make sure that governments will be unable to control them...