Re: [ox-en] Scarcity and limitations (was: Re: The nature of apple trees)

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On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM, Stefan Merten <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Diego, Michel, all!


 In fact the quote from Michel above gives a few examples but in a
 more general sense I'd expand them to all of exchange based
 production. If the goal of your production is to exchange other
 things for the products then you have a clear incentive to make your
 goods as expensive as possible to get the most return. Or in other
 words: To raise prices. In capitalism this trend to raise prices is
 countered by competition.

Hi Stefan

I would like you to consider the case of fair trade for example, when it
works as it is supposed to work. The organizing entity tries to eliminate
rent-extraction by middlemen, allowing it to pay a more dignified price to
the producer, and asks for a little extra from conscious consumers.

This is a form of exchange which does not seek to maximalize 'the most
return'; similarly, let's take a look at what is commonly called social
entrepreneurship. The aim is to achieve a social goal, and the corporate
form is used to achieve that goal. It is not necessary to strive for maximum
return since the goal is social, and profit just a means.

So, we have exchange, but it works differently from classic capitalism. So
let's keep exchange separated from markets, and markets from capitalism.

Maximizing individuals is a liberal myth, let's not perpetuate it in our own
forums, but recognize the complexity of human behaviour, the complexity of
exchange and market modes, the complexity of money designs, etc ...

Michel


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