vinney...axkl's avatar
vinney...axkl vcavallo@vinneycavallo.com 1 year ago
What do you mean by "greed"? My hypothesis is that that term doesn't mean what you think it means in a truly free market. Or more directly: it doesn't exist. Any profit you are able to generate in a free market is the result of providing value to someone else. If I take two $5 resources and combine them, via some process of effort and invention of my own, into a good that I sell for $15, then the person who bought that good freely decided that whatever new property I imbued into the $10 raw goods was worth at least $5 to him. It improved his life at least "five dollar's worth". He would trade five dollars worth of his own claims on resources to me. He wants this thing _today_ more than five dollars worth of other competing things in the future. More simply: Profits earned without aggression or State favoritism represent value added to society. So I've made $5. As money, that represents a claim on resources. One that was legitimately passed to me from the prior holder. I may choose to turn that $5 in for consumable today (maybe I buy cabbage from a farmer), or to hold it and defer my consumption until later. Where does "greed" factor in? Say I sell **A LOT** of $15 goods, and **MANY** people buy them, each of whom determines that my product improves their life. As the transactions are voluntary, my success can only mean I am on net adding value to society. Is that greed? Is too much success, adding too much value to society, greed? Is saving for too long - deferring my consumption - greed? _WHAT_ is "greed"? Surely you don't mean "creating and or selling goods and services through a free market whereby those whose lives are improved by trading with you enrich you accordingly"? That's "acting in one's own interest" but one's own interest can only be improved by creating value for others. Where does "greed" hide in this definition?
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Replies (2)

🇵🇸 whoever loves Digit's avatar
🇵🇸 whoever loves Digit 1 year ago
I'll bite but I bet it won't hit the same as if she continued the discussion with you You're basically relying on the assumption trickery doesn't exist to justify the idea greed doesn't exist, as far as I can tell? I used to be a delivery driver. People paid for the food I delivered, including the cost to pay me as an employee delivering it, plus tipped me. Meanwhile, I was polluting the environment with an entire car just to move food around safely because other people with entire cars wouldn't let something like a motorcycle be safe. I trust the food I delivered was of decent quality by this shitty era's standards, but via pollution, my job was to kill my customers and everyone they love while relying on them not knowing I'm doing that so they not only pay me, but tip me as well. I didn't tell every customer "you really shouldn't tip me, I'm taking away your food in the long run, it's a tragedy that you couldn't cook for yourself." I don't expect delivery drivers to tell me that every time they deliver to me either. And I also tip them worthless dollars hoping it will help them survive. Doesn't mean I think they're good people or adding anything to society. They're random people who may or may not be good but are currently unable to find a way to survive without being part of the military industrial complex's petrodollar economy. Dollars are worthless pieces of paper anyway, maybe in an economy based on something valuable it would be more likely for the economic exchanges to reflect value and people would be better at accurately assessing value instead of clinging to delusions. I'm sure you're more open to learning than laeserin realizes. I think she sees you have disingenuous thoughts and she assumes you're always willing to argue disingenuously but I notice you might actually be trying to get out of the habit. If you respectfully keep suggesting you'd like to try talking to her my gut feeling is she's the type to try again
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