Читать книгу Harmonious Economics or The New World Order. 2nd edition by supplemented - Владимир Чабанов - Страница 14

Social labour productivity depends from many factors; however, it is most significantly influenced by human beings and their interest in the results of the labour. To be precise, it is human intelligence, education, qualifications, knowledge, physical strength and agility, and health that really impact labour productivity, as well as human energy, decisiveness, honesty, discretion, decency, common sense, tact, and communication skills. The desire to work, and the individual and social labour culture also play an important role in the SLP.

That is why everything that helps people develop the above-mentioned qualities, contributes to the SLP increase. Among these: fair wage distribution, efficient education and upbringing methods, the health both of the parents and the child, psychological and moral family, workplace and social environment, physical education and sports, ecology, and the entire infrastructure for life and leisure.

The works of W. Petty, A. Smith, A. Marshall, T. Schultz, G. Becker, and many others reflect the idea that the reproduction of high-quality work force is productive. Thanks to the contributions of these authors, the work of progressive managers to improve people has ceased to be seen as unproductive expenses, but has become the main source of flourishing for companies and the society, not less important than capital investments in the main funds. That is why, in the twentieth century, advanced economies accrued human capital faster than material capital. For instance, the US economic recovery is at least 15—30% due to the increased level of education among the work force.

Thus, in advanced economies human investment exceeds generously the investment in the main production means. Table 2 presents the correlation between the US investment in the so-called “social expenses’ and production investment, taken for 100% ^[36].

Table 2. Correlation between “social’ expenses and production investment in the US, %

The data provided above allows to see that the US allocates as much for healthcare and social security as for education. It is also evident that if these expenses did not pay back, they would not be so significant. The expenses for reproduction of work-force in the US in 1947—1989 alone increase 5.5 times, while those for reproduction of fixed capital – by 3.7 times only. As the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “Knowledge-based economy has people as its main resource’. This idea was supported by Bill Clinton, who believed that “Sustained growth requires investment in human capital, education, healthcare, technology, infrastructure’43. However, modern Russia would rather save on its people.

Social labour productivity is highly dependent on the labour and living conditions of workers. Therefore, all measures that improve the labour ergonomics increase its productivity, as well. But one of the biggest impacts on SLP is that of the extent of people’s satisfaction: the higher it is, the more significant their contribution in the production process.

Let us consider a specific example. To keep a worker idle – like a machine – about 2 Mcal of energy is needed. If the worker consumes 3 Mcal, he can use one 1 Mcal for useful work only, that is 33% of the energy received from the food he eats. Then, if the same worker consumes 4 Mcal of food, he can use 2 Mcal for work. This shows how the increase in the amount of food eaten every day by 25% lets the worker do twice the amount of work he did before. This is why academician S. G. Strumilin concludes that “the more we want to save on economy, on income and food norms, the bigger damage we will suffer’44 ^[37].

Eminent entrepreneur Henry Ford believes the same: “Wages is more of a question for business than it is for labour. It is more important to business than it is to labour. Low wages will break business far more quickly than it will labour’45 ^[38]. Saving on people is, thus, a costly approach, however promising it may seem. That is why all unpopular measures are, in the end, regressive (sic).

SLP considerably depends on the technical equipment of labour, and this subject has often been brought up by authors. However, there is no definite answer here. In fact, machine production and maintenance require so much effort, that their use does not always help to save social labour. That is why the science that works out progressive principles, machines and technologies is believed to be one of the major production forces of the society. Plato wrote that “there is nothing more powerful than knowledge, it always and everywhere overpowers pleasure and all other things’. “Our economy is not based on natural resources, but on intelligence and application of scientific knowledge’ (Philip Handler, President of the US Academy of Sciences). And advanced economies do understand this.

As the result, American companies are the only to spend more than $15 billion on training and education of their personnel annually. For the implementation of the Equal Opportunity in Education Act adopted in the US in 2002 alone $26.5 billion was allocated. The total costs of education in advanced economies amounts to 5—6% of their GNP.

In Russia, however, they have never reached 1%, and in the years of crisis dropped further to 0.23% of the GDP. As the result, the salaries of professors employed at the Russia’s Higher education system were 1.5 times lower than the average for the country. The salaries of other academic workers are too shamefully low to quote here. Teachers in Russia do not earn enough to afford a minimal living standard. Doctors and nurses, however essential their work might be, are struggling to make both ends meet. It is evident that such stimulation neither stimulates the country’s development, nor creates proper conditions for the SLP increase or production acceleration.

Thus, the state as such, in order to assure its proper functioning, relies on quite specific expenses, just like a house or a complex piece of equipment require regular maintenance. Otherwise, they turn into a ruin. That is why a redistribution of the national income to private individuals beyond reasonable level turns out to be mortal for the country.