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Old 10-11-2008, 02:05 AM   #207 (permalink)
ptgatsby
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robespierre View Post
That is hardly an example of change. The words to a song have always had a marginal cost of zero to copy. If you walk into a concert, hear the lyrics, then sing the song on your own, or play it on your piano, whatever, you may then reproduce that work. This is why rational people do not consider ideas to be property. Something that is not scarce(meaning zero marginal cost to reproduce), can hardly be considered property.
And taking the concert with you? Their performances? The games? How about 3d modelling software, which I'm using? How about movies? How about books - knowledge? How about the free courses from MIT, or otherwise?

Things change. Some offer an entirely different method of production (open source, industrial revolution as a whole...?). Some offer an entirely different method of distribution (information age)? Society will change with it. Family dynamics change. Governance changes. The scale of production, of transportation... In the future, perhaps immortality will be possible; what axioms are the discount rates based on? Would time mean the same thing? Would saving for retirement?

If you must take a historical concept; consider the change that "money" had over bartering, and the concept of fiat currency below.

Quote:
We can state that the printing of paper money, all else being equal, always leads to inflation. This inflation has a distorting effect on the market, it shifts production away from productive ends and towards ends near the source of the inflation.
We can say that using a commodity will be limit bound by the effort put in, and the demand for it will fluctuate with long lead times and end up distorting the market.

The printing of paper money will only inflate the money supply at a rate equal to its printing; just as mining gold would inflate the money supply at a rate equal to its mining. Both have equal distortion in that regard.

The only problem is in the nature of issuance of fiat currency, often by governments, not the actual use of it. That's not to mention the advantages of having a monetary policy offers, either.

I know, I know. The market allocates perfectly. Not surprisingly, I lack the faith you have in the axioms that you subscribe to.
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