Comments on: Why we love the profit motive part XIV http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/ It is all obvious or trivial except... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:02:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: JonnyN http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33312 JonnyN Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:23:01 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33312 "The public is left wondering what happened to the John Mackey who started a tiny natural foods grocery in Austin, Texas." He succeeded in bringing his ideas about wholesome, delicious food to millions and millions of people, that's what happened. What a beautiful story, enabled by the free market. And look under the headline: "its founder's opposition to healthcare reform". It only takes the most superficial of readings of the article to see that he is advocating healthcare reform, just not the socialist kind. “The public is left wondering what happened to the John Mackey who started a tiny natural foods grocery in Austin, Texas.”

He succeeded in bringing his ideas about wholesome, delicious food to millions and millions of people, that’s what happened. What a beautiful story, enabled by the free market.

And look under the headline: “its founder’s opposition to healthcare reform”. It only takes the most superficial of readings of the article to see that he is advocating healthcare reform, just not the socialist kind.

]]> By: JonnyN http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33311 JonnyN Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:12:52 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33311 "a supporter of free-market evangelism that has no space for the community-based, egalitarian solutions his customers support" *sigh* Of course, of course, now I get it! Communities must be the very antithesis of freedom! *swivels eyes, falls over* “a supporter of free-market evangelism that has no space for the community-based, egalitarian solutions his customers support”

*sigh* Of course, of course, now I get it! Communities must be the very antithesis of freedom! *swivels eyes, falls over*

]]> By: John Fembup http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33302 John Fembup Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:12:59 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33302 And not only that, it's also timeless wisdom. And not only that, it’s also timeless wisdom.

]]> By: John Fembup http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33301 John Fembup Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:11:19 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33301 "it doesn’t matter what he thinks, only whether he is offering you what you want at a price you’re willing to pay." Yes.. And the key is: willing to pay. A willing buyer who is free to choose, is really the "free" part of a free market. The late great Milton Friedman repeated the story of the pencil in his & Rose's book Free to Choose. The people all over the world who contribute some infinitesimal part of their labor which finds its way into the pencil you can buy at any corner store "live in many lands, speak different languages, practice different religions, may even hate one another - yet none of these differences prevent them from cooperating to produce a pencil. How does it happen? Adam Smith gave us the answer two hundred years ago." Still important - because it's timeless wisdon. “it doesn’t matter what he thinks, only whether he is offering you what you want at a price you’re willing to pay.”

Yes.. And the key is: willing to pay. A willing buyer who is free to choose, is really the “free” part of a free market.

The late great Milton Friedman repeated the story of the pencil in his & Rose’s book Free to Choose.

The people all over the world who contribute some infinitesimal part of their labor which finds its way into the pencil you can buy at any corner store “live in many lands, speak different languages, practice different religions, may even hate one another – yet none of these differences prevent them from cooperating to produce a pencil. How does it happen? Adam Smith gave us the answer two hundred years ago.”

Still important – because it’s timeless wisdon.

]]> By: Fausty http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33298 Fausty Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:06:36 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33298 It's a tax on the stupid. It’s a tax on the stupid.

]]> By: chris strange http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33292 chris strange Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:01:34 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33292 I don't think Mackey is really going to worry that much about being bad mouthed by lefties. He tried running a business in the way that lefties would like, but it didn't make money and they still complained he was selfish and greedy. I don’t think Mackey is really going to worry that much about being bad mouthed by lefties. He tried running a business in the way that lefties would like, but it didn’t make money and they still complained he was selfish and greedy.

]]> By: JuliaM http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33288 JuliaM Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:22:00 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33288 Surely someone dumb enough to shop there in the first place, merely so they can swank their 'green' credentials, is likely to have the intelligence and attention span of a goldfish, and so wuill have forgotten this brouhaha by the time the next grocery run comes round? Surely someone dumb enough to shop there in the first place, merely so they can swank their ‘green’ credentials, is likely to have the intelligence and attention span of a goldfish, and so wuill have forgotten this brouhaha by the time the next grocery run comes round?

]]> By: widmerpool http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33286 widmerpool Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:57:28 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33286 Surely only in a free market would a community be free to create a community-based solution. Surely only in a free market would a community be free to create a community-based solution.

]]> By: Cleanthes http://timworstall.com/2009/08/21/why-we-love-the-profit-motive-part-xiv/comment-page-1/#comment-33281 Cleanthes Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:31:56 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=9146#comment-33281 And if his customers, armed as they are now with this information, decide to take their custom elsewhere, they will still - though they will hotly deny it - be demonstrating that "incentives matter". :-) And if his customers, armed as they are now with this information, decide to take their custom elsewhere, they will still – though they will hotly deny it – be demonstrating that “incentives matter”.

:-)

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