On Sep 1, 2005, at 8:22 AM, Gautam Mukunda wrote:
--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Capitalist Evil Logic dictates that with such low
margin
it´s not worth building a new refinery.
No, that would be _correct_ logic. If the margin for
building a refinery were that low, then _you should
build something else_. The reason capitalism is A
Good Thing is because it forces economies to operate
efficiently. Spending money on low-return projects
when higher return projects are available is
inefficient. It is impossible to predict what the
price of oil will be in 20 years, so of course you
don't build refineries that might or might not be
useful 20 years from now. That would be a useless
waste of resources.
Ahh, but the other side of that is (for instance) how rare asteroid
strikes to Earth have been; it's probably not going to happen as long
as our species is around. However, would you agree with capitalism's
logic that it's inefficient -- therefore unwise -- to plan for such a
contingency and develop technology to help us prevent it?
Efficiency in a market can't be the only measure of a thing's value,
because there are human-scale effects which can't be costed.
--
Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books
http://books.nightwares.com/
Current work in progress "The Seven-Year Mirror"
http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf
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