"I have come to understand, however, that markets are inevitable social structures, common to all societies."
If they're inevitable social structures, they're inevitably common to all societies. Now, how is a market a social structure?
"But the important thing here is that market logic leads us in a natural way to distinguish between what is private and what is public. Obligations between parents and children are completely different from obligations between worker and customer. The reason is that the obligations between parent and child are not (in the overwhelming number of cases) fungible. A worker can offer his work product in the marketplace to whoever wants it. A parent can't. Parenting is private, which is why you don't get paid to be a parent - hence there is no opportunity for arbitrage."
So if you can't describe something in classical economic terms, it's "private" ...and these realms of private and pbulic you see as essentially discontiguous even though there could be no "public" without a "private"?
" In order for you to get paid as a parent, I as an outsider would have to judge the effectiveness of your parenting as it benefits me - as a product - and decide your wage accordingly. There is almost no possibility that we could work out terms along those lines. "
Have you heard of alimony and child support?
" As a taxpayer I may offer you as a mother government assistance, health care or benefits, but that isn't pay. That is essentially government-based insurance intended to keep the cogs of society turning smoothly. There, the logic is that children create a temporary crisis of liquidity so we create a pool of liquidity to keep workers going until they can be productive again."
Ah, I see. Now we introduce the holy ghost of the government, mediating between the Public and the Private. Turning the cogs through the crisis of liquidity.
...and you think this is a helpful way to describe the world because....
Just curious,
Joanna