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Salaries are at best weakly correlated to contribution to society. Somebody raising their own children is contributing to society, for example, usually without
by Matumio 9y ago
Salaries are at best weakly correlated to contribution to society. Somebody raising their own children is contributing to society, for example, usually without salary. And producing food is probably a more valuable contribution than arguing in court about patents on round corners and such.
- Godel_unicode 9y ago> producing food is probably a more valuable contribution... This is a commonly held belief, but I wonder if it's actually true? The important things produced in the United States are largely possible because of intellectual property rights, and we pay people to not make food.
- lordnacho 9y ago> And producing food is probably a more valuable contribution than arguing in court about patents on round corners and such. The key point of the marginal revolution is it isn't the aggregate contribution that matters, but the marginal. The canonical example is diamonds and water. We all need water, so why does it cost a fraction of what a tiny diamond costs?