Collewctive Good and Capitalism
If you had a shred of knowledge of economic theory, you would understand that all the ideology of the free market depends on the work of theorists who have proved that free markets, market equilibration, complete knowledge, and recontracting, leads to an optimum in which each consumer maximizes his welfare, each firm maximizes its (zero in equilibrium) profits, each resource earns its maximum rent, and it is impossible to increase anyone's income without reducing someone else'[s (Pareto Optimum). The proof of the existence of equilibrium problem posed by Walras and the general equilibrium theorists of the 19th century have been solved (in a sense) by McKenszie, Debreu, and Arrow. It is a highly contrived and incompletely generalized theory, but an incredible intellectual achievement in which people acting rationally and not necessarily trying to help each other, actually can be expected to lead to a mutually acceptable optimum, which may conveniently be termed "the common good." |
