Folks dwelling in capitalist international locations, even when lower than completely free, don’t give it some thought. As prospects, they place orders with their suppliers. As producers, they fulfill the orders of their prospects. Customers are the bosses, producers are at their service. And producers fortunately settle for this function as a result of they need cash to, of their flip, order items as shoppers on markets. A free moderately than much less free economic system naturally organizes itself round this precept as a result of we produce with a view to devour and never the opposite method round.
For Christmas, you gave orders to your suppliers, not the opposite method round. A producer couldn’t order you to purchase from him. Solely public producers—governments or suppliers backed by governments—can do that. French thinker Raymond Ruyer, in his 1969 guide Éloge de la société de consommation (In Reward of the Client Society), described the distinction between a market economic system, the place the buyer is sovereign, and a deliberate economic system, the place the producer runs the present (below authorities’s management):
In a market economic system, demand is crucial and provide is supplicant … In a deliberate economic system, provide is crucial and demand is supplicant.
« Dans l’économie de marché, la demande est impérieuse, et l’offre suppliante … Dans l’économie planifiée, l’offre est impérieuse, et la demande suppliante. »
That is why, if in case you have the possibility to dwell in a more-rather-than-less free society (and in case you are not a hermit), you possibly can have a cheerful Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
******************************
Opposite to EconLog bloggers, Santa finds it tough to color letters
