Market Economy

aka Free Market, aka Capitalism (not State Capitalism, Corporate Capitalism, Corporate Welfare)

Brad De Long on "Speculative Microeconomics for Tomorrow's Economy" - Unexpressed but implicit in Adam Smith's argument for the efficiency of the market system are assumptions about the nature of goods and services and the process of exchange--assumptions that fit reality less well today than they did back in Adam Smith's day. Moreover, these implicit underlying assumptions are likely to fit the "NewEconomy" of the future even less well than they fit the economy of today.

Evolution Of A Market Economy

Goal:

• starting from something kinda like a State Of Nature, explore an ongoing increase in the complexity of voluntary human transactions. (Though I may skip ahead and assume a background Minarchist Night Watchman State/Common Law that magically provides enforcement.)

• Justify, if possible, things (e.g. rent, profit, interest) that a Libertarian Socialist hates about the Free Market as a social organizing model.

• get a sense of what drives SmallWorld vs BigWorld outcomes

  • are there artificial Market Distortion-s that lead to BigWorld?

• ?

Some references:

• PhilJones:MarketsAreEmbedded - what is scope of Property Rights?

Assumption0: you own yourself, can't be forced to engage in positive action.

You're walking through the forest and you find an apple tree. Nobody else is around. You take an apple and eat it.

You're still standing there, and someone else comes along. They want to eat an apple, too.

• I'm going to skip this thread for now since focusing on found assets seems less common. Though maybe I'll change my mind later if it seems foundational.

You get tired of breaking big branches into firewood with your bare hands. You bang a couple rocks together until you get a sharp edge on one, then you use a vine to tie it to a stick. Congrats you have an axe.