An Invisible hand…
Adam Smith, one of the fathers of modern Economics, laid the foundations upon which most of our society rests, in monetary terms. He also speaks of creative destruction, meaning that from times to times a wave of destruction strucks the economy removing the inefficient companies and opening space for newer, more efficient ones.
Contrary to the beliefs of the owners of the closing companies, this actually does good to the general public and society as a whole, allowing us to pay less for the same/better services due to the removal of the already mentioned inefficiencies. By working for the self benefit, one usual works for the benefit of the society as a whole. Working to improve our business by making it more efficient allows us to remove unnecessary spending, thus making the prices go down, maintain general profit margins and allowing one company to sell more than their not so efficient rivals. To the consumer there’s a net gain, allowing him to pay less for the same product. This is a part of what capitalism really is.
But and what happens to the owners of the closing companies? They have their money invested on the company, workers they have to fire, wives to tell the bad news, etc. A typical familiar drama.
The suffering of the few for the greater good…
Tags: Adam Smith, Capitalism, Economics, Society
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24 November 2009 at 22:41
If a country doesn’t develops is because some need more taxes, and others less
Public consumption forward
25 November 2009 at 14:06
Although I don’t believe in it, this “social” way of looking at capitalism makes me wish the discographic industry was more capitalist. Right now, having culture would not be a crime. I guess that’s the problem of a monopoly.
16 March 2010 at 20:28
It’s all no more than a game. And we are always on the loosing side.