You see everyone calling for market regulation, with ideas like the market is just so evil, so we need the government to regulate them. I just cannot even know from where to start, because these kind of ideas are just so stupid that it leaves me shocked.
Well first of all, we need to understand what the market is. It basically has 2 broad definitions, which are actually the same, only viewed from different perspectives, implying the same thing below the surface, yet above the surface it signals different things to different people, mostly resulting from a lack of understanding.
First Definition: The physical place
According to Merriam-Webster the market is:
- a place where products are bought and sold
- a store where foods and often household items are sold
- an area (such as a country or part of a country) where a product or service can be sold
I assume 90% of the people have this in their mind when they hear the word market, and it's granted a reasonable definition in the minds of the less educated people. When people hear the word market they all think of the nasty retail chains how evil they are and this and that..., of course everyone thinks of their Supermarket and it fills them up with irrational hatred and envy.
Second Definition: The exchange and pricing mechanism
According to The Free Dictionary the market is:
A system of exchange in which prices are determined by the interaction of multiple, competing buyers and sellers
Or just how my economics teacher used to say back in the day:
The place where demand meets supply
It is basically just a place where a transaction or exchange happens, using the very efficient pricing mechanisms of auctioning or bidding, and the price will be set in accordance to the supply/demand balance.
Now this definition is more subtle, and people lacking economic knowledge can't really figure out how trading works and how prices are set. They just think that the evil capitalists set the prices unfairly, whatever that word means, and exploit the poor customers. (Beware of the highlighted words, they are the tools of choice for the propagandists, pushing you into emotional rage instead of rational minded debate)
Regulation
2nd Definition
Now if people understand the 2nd definition, which is really the core of trading and transacting (even gifts which are for 0 cost), then they are pure lunatic idiots if they advocate for regulating that.
It is just people transacting voluntarily, being that selling you an orange, or gifting you salt, it's all a market basically.
Now if people really want to regulate that, then they are control freak lunatics. Why on earth does voluntary trade need to be regulated? The market is already efficient, the prices are always correct, because it's just voluntary people voluntarily determining the prices, in fact the word "determine" is not correct, since in no way there is a central authority, it's just people trading, and the price emerges as a result.
Regulating a voluntary market is like turning lovemaking into a rape, or peace into war, it is literally an assault on peace, by imposing laws that are always backed by violence (arrests, imprisonment, extorted taxes). If people support this, then their are either very evil or very stupid.
1st Definition
Of course probably people don't advocate for regulating the market structure, since everyone understands that voluntary transaction is good, and it's a form of friendship between people (giving gifts to your friends, or selling good products to customers to earn trust).
However I think when people want to "regulate the market", they imply to regulate the businesses, a.k.a the supermarkets, retails chains, grocery stores, etc...
But is there a difference really? What is the difference between the market as an exchange vs the market as a physical location, isn't the same? Of course it is. The grocery store is where the supply and the demand meets, the demand is the customer and the supply is the store itself.
What regulation does a store need? Are the prices not fair? Of course they are. That is how the market works. If the grocery prices high, that means that either the farmers produce less, or there are too many customers buying food, or similar things.
It is fair by default, that's how the market is, it might not be pretty, but that is reality. You cannot legislate reality away. If you think prices are unfair, you might wanna abolish sales taxes, GST, VAT or however it is named that is imposed by the Government.
What about wages? Well, it is still the same thing. If wages are low, due to the job market being over-saturated or less jobs available, that is not the markets fault. Salaries are always fair, because it reflects workers productivity. If a worker thinks he deserves more,then he should show his boss his full talent, and they will be glad to raise his salary, if he is really a valuable worker.
If he doesn't then he should go to another workplace, I am sure somebody will reward his talent if he is truly that good. But if he is not, then he should better start improving it, or look for other ways to make money. Crying and whining is not a solution, people should take their lives in their own hands. Legislating money into existence is illogical, a minimal wage distorts a perfectly fair market. It is not pretty that people earn little, but it's not the market's fault that they earn so little.
Maybe instead of watching silly youtube videos with cats all day and listening to pop music, they should read some investment books or improve their talents, and they might make a little bit more money, but that is just my crazy wild idea, of course being lazy and crying to the government for welfare is more comfortable.
