Hi Elliot,
Yes, your message is starting to become clear.
I would agree that free enterprise is neither the best that it can be today,
nor is it necessarily the best economic system possible. Let's' progress
carefully in our explorations though.
Help me out on your comments that the market "sets up a profit motive for
screwing people" and the following...
ELLIOT:
And i dont hear many
people complaining about the price of coffee at starbucks, and seeing as how
an entire thridworld family producing that coffee makes about enough a day
to buy one cup of that coffee which they make, well, i consider that
stealing and lots of other consider it acceptable. yes its "consensual" but
under the threat of death (starvation) is anything consented to trully (or
even legally) considered consensual? not in american courts.
ROG:
How does the freedom to sell one's labor, skills or ideas involve "screwing"
someone? Or the freedom to hire or not hire? Or to create a new product or
to compete in a new market? Or the freedom to buy or sell? I don't know who
is getting screwed in your model or why it is that they freely choose such a
seemingly disagreeable fate.
In addition, your Starbucks case doesn't ring true for me. Starbucks is not
threatening them with starvation. This risk was inherent with birth.
Starbucks is simply offering them an additional choice in solving the
problem. Offering someone a job is moral. If you suggest an additional
non-market-determined social safety net (also a moral request), then I would
suggest you look to other than economics to solve it (careful though, someone
has to supply that safety net, and if you put too much effort into redi
stribution, you will end up stifling all economic progress and thus not be
able to supply any nets).
My point though is that Starbucks is adding more value to the families'
situation than are you or I. If you consider this stealing or screwing, then
I fail to understand your logic. Help me out here.
Rog
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