🚀 go-pugleaf

fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:


>Strange, is it not, then, that our GNP is STILL double Japan's? Strange, also,
>that American companies ignored the competition for decades. Again, you might
>read Peter Drucker. He DID warn (in the 50's!) that America would be in
>trouble in the 70's, due to lack of capital investment. He also details how
>large US manufacturers ignored foreign challengers, tried to 'cream' the 
>markets (ie, only selling "top-of-the-line", and leaving mass-consumer goods
>to those 'foreigners'), and basically frittered away much of our leadership.

>AFTER you have read Drucker, you will be better equipped to take up the debate
>with some INTELLIGENT criticisms.

No, I have not read Drucker, at least on Japan, but I have read both
Prestowitz,"Trading Places," and Lester Thurow, "Head to Head."  And
yes American companies did make mistakes in hindsight.  AT&T *never*
should have given, or sold, the rights to the transistor to Sony.  IBM
never should have agree to give their basic patents to the Japanese
when they were "allowed" to set up a subsidiary in Japan.  Univac never
should have granted the full disclosure of their transistorized real
time computers to a 51% Japanese owned subsidiary in the sixties when 
the Japanese needed real time control of the bullet train.  And on and
on.  

The power structure in the US thought that Japan as an ally against
the threat of the Russian Bear was more important that fair trading 
for American companies.

You are right, however that American companies did fritter away the
huge technological and productive lead they had, at least up to about
1970.  After that it dawned on some Americans that there was a real
threat to the continued prosperity of the US.

BTW, you report that Japan has less than half the GNP of the US, but
you neglect to note that Japan's population is less than half.  Japan
has the *highest* per capita GNP in the world, something like 20%
higher than the US.

WAKE UP AMERICANS.  It may be too late already.  BTW if you want the
funny side of the colonization of the USA by the Japanes, read
Kurt Vonnegut's "Hokus Pokus."   At first it is funny, hilarious even,
but then it sinks in that it really is happening.

One request.  Please post the Drucker book which I am encouraged to
read.  I have lotsa free time now, being unemployed.
--
Louis Schmittroth louis@cs.athabascau.ca
NW 1/4 18 67 21 W4 Alberta.