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To me, the problem with this argument is that there is, in fact, no connection between what is best for society and what is profitable. In theory, there should
by glesica 13y ago
To me, the problem with this argument is that there is, in fact, no connection between what is best for society and what is profitable. In theory, there should be, but it isn't an intrinsic thing, it's created deliberately and must be maintained.
When you have the money, you make the rules. That sums up the problem. Markets are not magical creatures, they exist within the context of social rules and norms. Selling human beings was once seen as rather profitable. Then society decided that selling human beings was wrong, even though it was profitable. You clearly understand this, we banned slavery, we didn't just ban investing in slavery-related businesses.
What I think you are missing is that there are a ton of things that are between "good for society" and something along the lines of slavery that is clearly a bad thing. The problem with these middle "bads" is that they aren't bad enough to be universally and energetically rejected.
This means that there is plenty of room for people with money to get these things made legal, or kept legal, and it is these things that often seem to be more profitable than other, more socially beneficial, activities (possibly because fewer people are morally willing and able to do them). I think of this sort of thing as "meta-competition" because it is competition among those with money to most efficiently turn their money into influence and power that can be used to allow them to make even more money.
As long as money can be converted to power, you can't assume, as you have done, that whatever is legal is socially beneficial (or at least not socially destructive).
- WalterBright 13y ago> Then society decided that selling human beings was wrong, even though it was profitable. More interestingly, society decided that slavery was wrong after it became unprofitable. The same goes for child labor.
- dllthomas 13y ago"More interestingly, society decided that slavery was wrong after it became unprofitable." Someone should really inform the human traffickers.
- WalterBright 13y agoFree market economies routinely bury slave based ones. If slavery was more profitable, it would be the other way around. Modern human trafficking is prevalent in industries that are themselves illegal, so there isn't free market competition. The problem with slave labor is considerable expense is necessary to guard them, and the slaves not only do as little as possible but they will actively sabotage the work.
- ArkyBeagle 13y agoWe, collectively as a species, managed to find a path in which slavery was no longer necessary - for the first time in human history. Yes, the cost was huge - that's why stupid things like the Fugitive Slave Law and the Dred Scott Decision happened, leading to the failure of Whiggish Moderation and, well, you know the rest...
- ArkyBeagle 13y agoNot so much. See "Time On the Cross". Very profitable, cotton slave plantationing was - it was the feedstock to the massive growth in British textiles, the Silicon Valley of its day. What drove slavery into the ... juggernaut it became was more that financial panics in the US ( and also even more globally ) destroyed so much cash value that slaves were all that was left of value when the tide went out. I recommend the horribly-titled "A Nation of Deadbeats". It's narrative history, but wow its a good story. And at the same time, I bet financialization is completely critical to having the sort of standard of living we have now. Child labor only became an issue when adult labor began to be idled.