THE WASTRELS

In a report by James Daglish, editor of the British Atom (July 81), we found two interesting points. First, he has the guts to say per caput which is good Latin for "per head;" capita is the plural, which is fashionable, but makes no sense. We will emulate.

Second, he reproduces a chart showing the GNP per caput vs. the per caput energy consumption for 33 countries of the world. We picked out the industrial ones, computed the ratio, and what did we get? A double portrait: The right side shows the wastefulness of capitalist anarchy, the left the efficiency of socialist planning. (Note particularly the two otherwise so comparable Germanies.)