Price: The Most Powerful Tool

Guest post by Beetle559.

The most powerful tool we have as a species is the “price”. Nothing will advance society further than the recognition of the fact that we need to let prices be what prices are before we can thrive. The price is a tool, it is not an enemy that needs to be forcefully manipulated and put at “its proper level”. The price determines itself through the interactions of millions or even billions or people, it is not evil nor good, it is never wrong unless someone is using force to coerce it.

Price will be the greatest equalizer on the planet when we start to view it in its proper light. There is no force on the planet more powerful than price, nothing you can imagine, no system of distribution, no governmental body, no use of force and certainly no amount of taking will alleviate poverty and promote wealth like a pure price system will. The best, the absolute best society we can possibly achieve worldwide will be made possible by refusing to legitimize taking and giving price free reign.

[Free market] capitalism doesn’t lie, it doesn’t try to make you feel warm and fuzzy about yourself, at its core lies a simple and fundamental economic truth. We are all in competition with each other for scarce resources. That might sound ugly or cold but there is another truth about capitalism that is profound in its beauty. There is a way for us to compete with each other which benefits all of us. There is a way for us to compete with each other which benefits all of us.

Trade. That’s all we need to do to peacefully compete, it’s that simple. If you engage in trade than in the eyes of the world you have produced more than you have consumed yet from your perspective the opposite is true, in your eyes you have been rewarded with consumption above the value of what you traded to provide for it. All glory to… price; what better outcome could you ever expect to come from any other means of competing for scarce goods.

Capitalism isn’t just “the most efficient system for distribution blah, blah, blah”. Capitalism is magnificent in its potential and future generations will marvel that we had to struggle to convince the world that the price system must be set free so we can get busy actually solving the problems prices indicate instead of just distorting the price through force.