On 2/14/06, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A tree that was once considered a weed was found to > have cancer fighting properties. But would the tree not be scarce under > socialism?
------------------------ That is unknown. > > Socialism might do a better job of protecting and enhancing the supply of > trees, but > the trees are limited relative to human (as well as market) needs. ---------------------------- There is a substantive distinction between the terms finite, limited and scarce. I, for one, have found the uses of these terms and their conflation in enviro./eco. econ. rather frustrating simply because they neglect an awful lot of work done in various subspecialties in philosophy. Such is the academic/policy division of labor at this juncture in history. > Much scarcity is market induced, but I don't think all. ---------------------- Right. Much scarcity is produced and perpetuated by Government policies. Many Governments prefer that certain questions not be asked and will simply not fund the learning/knowledge acquisition processes that would bring forth relevant answers that would shift social and policy dynamics. Many medical and environmental questions remain unanswered largely for lack of funding, for instance. > > The case for uncertainty being a product of markets seems more questionable. > Markets > do create extra uncertainty, of course. A socialist worker would not fear > unemployment -- at least in a rational socialist society. ------------------------- Agents in markets simply can't know 'the' future in the way we know that 2+2=4. There's also the problem of the unintended consequences of our individual/collective actions and intentions, rendering externalities ubiquitous. We have no idea what a permantly full employment polity would be like, nor how long it would be sustainable given the unintended consequences of different intentions and expectations about what people want and how they would attempt to achieve them, especially if others attempt to preclude them from realizing their goals. Conflicting norms may also be a key barrier to mitigating the kinds of uncertainty that would arise in a socialist polity. The dynamics of uncertainty and dissensus are undertheorized at this juncture, the work of conflict resolution theorists/practitioners notwithstanding.
