High Wages, Enlightened Management, and Economic Productivity

Abstract

This book has tried to make the case that government policy-makers are caught on the horns of a dilemma. Market economies have an inherent tendency to create strong pulses of competitive pressures, which can drive the economy into crises. Governments have a range of policy options to counteract the threat of economic collapse under competitive pressures. First, they can attempt to prevent competitive pressures from gaining strength. Military Keynesianism represents an excellent example of this strategy. Governments can also change the legal structure, allowing firms to collude to inhibit competition. All such measures, as we have seen, will eventually weaken the economy, although perhaps not as much as unbridled competition will.