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"Free markets dissolve the concept [of fairness]." Some would say that free markets implement the concept of fairness. Of course, there are no free markets in
by randallsquared 18y ago
"Free markets dissolve the concept [of fairness]."
Some would say that free markets implement the concept of fairness. Of course, there are no free markets in the world today, to a first approximation, since all the prices and outcomes are distorted by external agencies, so whether free markets are fair is a bit academic.
- netcan 18y agoThat is irrelevant really. You may think that the result is fair, but fair is not the reason that is the result. The free market comes to a result based on a series of self interested decisions. At the core are the buy/sell decisions. I price in a way that maximises my profit, you buy in a way that maximises your utility. Fair (I admit an ambiguous term) represents something external to this.
- randallsquared 18y agoYou maximize your profit as a proxy for maximizing your utility (and some people choose less profit because "helping others" boosts their utility more). Since we're both maximizing our utility in a free market, it's arguable that the outcome of our transaction is maximum fairness, or at least a local maximum of fairness.