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From: laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Re: Libertarians and economic democracy
Message-ID: <5051@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Feb-85 11:47:59 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5051
Posted: Sun Feb 10 11:47:59 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Feb-85 11:47:59 EST
References: <630@wucs.UUCP> <610@unmvax.UUCP> <458@whuxl.UUCP> <330@enmasse.UUCP> <563@mhuxt.UUCP>, <93@ucbcad.URe: Re: Libertarians and ecoSun, 10-Feb-85 11:47:59 EST
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 32

A philosophy professor I have grew up in a town in Newfoundland that
worked this way. There was one industry, (a large plant) and everybody
worked there. The company provided your house, your car (in some cases),
and would pay for medical treatment. It would also pay for education for
your children, even to sending them  (or some of them) to university.

Every youth was guaranteed a summer job at the plant, as well, if they
wanted one. He worked there every summer, saved up his money, and left.

Eventually (I think after Newfoundland joined Confederation) the government
stepped in and said that it was *wrong* for any company to have such control
over the life of its workers. The whole setup was shut down. At the time,
when my professor was a happy university student with a strong interest
in Marxist political philosophy, he hallowed this as a great improvment.

Now, however, when he looks back, he can see that things were much better
before. Now this particular town has high unemployment (like the rest
of Newfoundland) and  the ties which kept the town working together have
been broken -- despite a population *decrease*. Quality control and
production are down in the plant, as well.  These days he thinks that the
whole thing (including having Newfoundland join Confederation) was a
mistake. There is the ``old man in his late 50s looks back on his past''
problem, he admits, but it seems to be shared with the other people who
grew up there. How much of the decline can be attributed to a general
decline in values (something which he believes in, even if I am not
so sure about it) is also hard to measure.

We can't think of a way to research this scientifically. But it makes
you wonder...

Laura Creighton
utzoo!laura