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Economic value transcends "money", "capitalism", "the rich", "corporations" and abstractions like those. It's a far more fundamental phenomenon. Simply put, r
by VancouverMan 3y ago
Economic value transcends "money", "capitalism", "the rich", "corporations" and abstractions like those.
It's a far more fundamental phenomenon.
Simply put, real economic value arises when two entities voluntarily provide mutual benefit to one another, thus improving the overall situation for both.
The voluntary nature of this interaction is critical; when it's missing, there can't be mutual benefit. That's what happens with taxation, for example. The involuntary nature of such an interaction means that the entity who is forced to unwillingly pay the tax is always worse off than if the transaction hadn't happened.
That's why government "jobs" are so inherently pointless and harmful to society at large. They way they're "funded" makes society worse off, and then what the government "workers" do with such resources typically makes society even more worse off than that.
- jjoonathan 3y agoThe objective function of capitalism is wealth-weighted. The term "economic value" tries to hide this fact. If everyone had equal wealth and equal weight in the objective function, your picture of reality (voluntary transactions etc etc) would be correct! If Mt. Olympus had all the wealth and completely controlled the objective function, my picture of reality would be correct. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to look at the actual wealth distribution function and interpolate world views accordingly.
- JohnFen 3y ago> real economic value arises when two entities voluntarily provide mutual benefit to one another I think that at least 80% of the economic exchanges I engage in don't qualify as a "voluntary exchange". I engage in them because I have no other choice. The government doesn't enter into this aspect.