At 10:39 AM 3/7/2004 -0800 Doug Pensinger wrote:
>> Nevertheless, if by "loyalty" you mean keeping their goods and services
>> more expensive than those of their competitors, I think that it is very
>> unreasonable to expect that of anybody.
>
>Exactly. That's one of the reasons why an unrestricted free market is an
>unhealthy system, IMO. We value loyalty but the free market doesn't.
But I would argue that the converse is just as unhealthy.
As an economist, I believe in looking for ways to increase efficiency in an
economy. With greater efficiency more goods and services are produced.
To do this, it will periodically be necessary to fire workers from
inefficient jobs. Ideally, they can eventually be redeployed in more
efficient sectors of the economy.
Neverthless, the point remains that I have never seen an economic model
whereby prosperity is achieved by making goods and services *more*
expensive. To the extent that "loyalty" is a force keeping goods and
service *more expensive* then "loyalty" is a force acting against our
prosperity.
Indeed, in general, "loyalty", by which I mean actions which keep goods and
services more expensive, has almost always been found to be unsustainable.
Today, the difference between "loyalty" and pursuing cheaper prices may
be small.... but tomorrow that difference will only widen, and eventually
that gap will widen to the point where "loyalty" will be nearly impossible
to maintain, and the consequences will be much more severe.
JDG
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
