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I think this kind of belief in free markets should be treated as equivalent to beliefs in Santa or fairies at the bottom of the garden. 'Consumers don't want t
by Guid_NewGuid 3y ago
I think this kind of belief in free markets should be treated as equivalent to beliefs in Santa or fairies at the bottom of the garden.
'Consumers don't want to die in plane crashes so if they are killed in a plane crash they will simply avoid doing business with that company in future' is certainly... A take and I guess actually correct taken literally but uhhh, nobody listen to free market maniacs please.
- okr 3y agoWhat do you mean? Is this argument not correct?
- foxyv 3y agoMuch like any complicated system, free market capitalism tends to have some emergent properties in the absence of regulation. You can see monopolies, monopsonies, cartels, and fraud. These corporate forces often have disproportionate control over the markets and can engage in anti-competitive practices that result in sub-optimal practices. Sub-optimal practices at 40,000 feet means people die in a way that would cost pennies to prevent. Lots of people.
- okr 3y agoBut the original argument i still find convincing. As i would not fly with an airline, that has death priced in. Once the word is out, it is over.
- foxyv 3y agoHow would you know if an airline had death priced in? Oligarchies tend to diversify into media for this reason. Oh no that tragic plane crash was obviously pilot error!
- okr 3y agoWell, iam more afraid of government, where people are numbers, than private companies, where people are money. No people no money. Even the oligarch can lose a lot. So, i still find the argument convincing. That accidents happen is priced in, you pay for insurance.
- colpabar 3y agoI guess it depends on whether or not you think that an airline killing a plane full of people because they skimped on safety is just the "cost of innovation". Surely you can see how some people may think it would be better to have regulations about safety beforehand that airlines have to comply with, rather than letting them do whatever they want until they kill people, right? To me, regulation makes a lot more sense than just hoping for the best from people who care about profit above all else.
- Beldin 3y agoYeah, but is never that cut and dried. Suppose there are two airlines. Statistics on them state that first one has a crash every 100,000 flights, the other every one million. You need four tickets, and four again for the way back. How much are you willing to spend more per ticket? $10? $50? $100? $1,000?