While the parent's example shows a misunderstanding of economics, it's more accurate in the realm of politics, where positional compromise on a number of issues

While the parent's example shows a misunderstanding of economics, it's more accurate in the realm of politics, where positional compromise on a number of issues is impossible. For instance, one can require or not require voter ID, but one cannot require half an ID card. So, in a functional political system, one may trade the undesirable qualities of voter identification for free state IDs, or extended poll hours, or a PSA ad buy regarding registration, or a new bridge. Horse trading allows compromise on issues where a halfway point doesn't exist.