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.cb ENERGY AND POLITICS


	Many propositions that used to be taken for granted and not
discussed are now "questioned".  Unfortunately this "questioning"
amounts to taking their falsity for granted.  In fact, today, when
someone speaks of "questioning" a proposition, he often means
assuming it false without any obligation to present convincing reasons.
Anyway here are some propositions that usEd to be taken for granted
for which I wish to present explicit arguments.

	1. Productivity, in the sense of output per man hour, is the
most important determinant of prosperity.  A country with low output
per man-hour will be poorer than a country with high output per man-hour.

	2. Increased prosperity is important for human welfare even
in the most prosperous countries.

	3. The amount of unemployment depends primarily on the
functioning of the economic system.  Technological advance, even
when its primary effect is to increase efficiency, doesn't produce
unemployment.  This is because the people can still enjoy even more
material goods than the richest economy so far has produced.