Trade enables individual specialization. And when we’re able to specialize, our productivity soars. Government meddles, impedes, and destroys what it can't understand.
Posted by freedomforall 2 years, 10 months ago to Philosophy
Excerpt:
"How soon we forget. It was 24 years ago this summer that Steve Jobs was coaxed back to Apple. The only thing was that investors weren’t interested. Titans of tech at the time like Michael Dell dismissed Apple’s long-term potential, and said the company’s assets should quite simply be sold off ahead of it folding altogether.
Apple nearly died, but for a $150 million investment care of Bill Gates.
Funnily enough Netflix opened its doors right around the time that Jobs returned to Apple. The reaction from investors was somewhat similar. The DVD-by-Mail company’s prospects were once so questionable that it tried twice to sell itself to Blockbuster. The video chain couldn’t be bothered. The future it saw was “Blockbuster Nights” that involved driving to a video store in the hope of leaving with the VHS or DVD you actually wanted. It seems government saw a similar future as evidenced by the FTC’s nixing of Blockbuster’s attempt to purchase Dothan, AL-based Movie Gallery. Too much market power was the excuse. A few years later both were bankrupt.
The obvious message from this for the political class is that if business men and women in the proverbial arena can’t predict the future, why would any sane person expect politicians to have a clue? Better yet, why would politicians think they possess some kind of hotline to tomorrow?
Except that they do. The latest evidence is the passage in the Senate of a technology and manufacturing bill “that takes on China.” Congress will invest in science and technology, among other things. See above and try not to laugh. The lack of self-awareness within members of the political class never disappoints, but in this case it’s hard not to feel a little embarrassed for the proponents of that which vandalizes reason.
At which point it’s worth noting that trade is not war. Trade is mutual improvement. I’ve got bread, but what I really want is wine, so I’ll exchange my surplus for yours. Both sides win.
Except that the above doesn’t begin to explain the genius of trade. What makes it truly spectacular is that it allows the individuals who comprise what we call the “economy” to focus on what they do best. Translated for those who need it, free exchange among humans frees the math deficient from ever having to take Calculus again, and the athletically club-footed from ever having to take Phys-Ed again."
"How soon we forget. It was 24 years ago this summer that Steve Jobs was coaxed back to Apple. The only thing was that investors weren’t interested. Titans of tech at the time like Michael Dell dismissed Apple’s long-term potential, and said the company’s assets should quite simply be sold off ahead of it folding altogether.
Apple nearly died, but for a $150 million investment care of Bill Gates.
Funnily enough Netflix opened its doors right around the time that Jobs returned to Apple. The reaction from investors was somewhat similar. The DVD-by-Mail company’s prospects were once so questionable that it tried twice to sell itself to Blockbuster. The video chain couldn’t be bothered. The future it saw was “Blockbuster Nights” that involved driving to a video store in the hope of leaving with the VHS or DVD you actually wanted. It seems government saw a similar future as evidenced by the FTC’s nixing of Blockbuster’s attempt to purchase Dothan, AL-based Movie Gallery. Too much market power was the excuse. A few years later both were bankrupt.
The obvious message from this for the political class is that if business men and women in the proverbial arena can’t predict the future, why would any sane person expect politicians to have a clue? Better yet, why would politicians think they possess some kind of hotline to tomorrow?
Except that they do. The latest evidence is the passage in the Senate of a technology and manufacturing bill “that takes on China.” Congress will invest in science and technology, among other things. See above and try not to laugh. The lack of self-awareness within members of the political class never disappoints, but in this case it’s hard not to feel a little embarrassed for the proponents of that which vandalizes reason.
At which point it’s worth noting that trade is not war. Trade is mutual improvement. I’ve got bread, but what I really want is wine, so I’ll exchange my surplus for yours. Both sides win.
Except that the above doesn’t begin to explain the genius of trade. What makes it truly spectacular is that it allows the individuals who comprise what we call the “economy” to focus on what they do best. Translated for those who need it, free exchange among humans frees the math deficient from ever having to take Calculus again, and the athletically club-footed from ever having to take Phys-Ed again."
