PiMac--- Okay, returning to your theorizing:
There is an intermediate kind of calculation, one that is beyond exchange- value, but requires practical action, where one acknowledges various trade- offs in the expenditure of resources on some good. Since resources are finite, there is always competition among various worthwhile potentialities for them. For example, I have a good singing voice, acting talent, and good looks. Many people thought I would go into show business. But my true interests are intellectual, and there is only so much time and energy, so I pursued a different path...In a society, such choices can be decentralized, as when various charitable organizations compete for support, or centralized in a government, as when lobbyists compete for votes. Since there is a rough hierarchy of goods, there are guidelines in our thinking about what is important, and the relative trade- offs. Since there are always contingent conditions, there is an irreducible degree of indeterminacy and/or controversiality to the allocation of social resources.... |
