[lbo-talk] Markets and info

[Tayssir John Gabbour]

Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> Doug:
>> No market-based solutions!
>
> [WS:] The problem with market-based solutions is that they operate
> in the same way as "socialism" did in x-USSR - as cover up for
> practices being its own anti-thesis.  Likewise, market-based
> solutions are proposed to cover up monopolistic practices of
> corporations.
>
> But other than that, markets can be very valuable for sending and
> receiving information about values and preferences - something
> similar to what opinion polls do today, only better.  Markets
> can also be very valuable for behavior
> modification - again something similar to what law enforcement
> does today, only better.

Perhaps someone more sophisticated at economics can explain something to
me. I've never understood what people mean when they talk about
"information" being something free markets give us. Maybe I'm just a
technerd jaded by info, but it seems to me that free markets aren't
impressive at delivering info. (For example, externalities aren't
accounted for in a given transaction.)

I mean, in an economy where 10-17% of our GDP comes from the marketing
industry, and corporations are essentially secret societies, maybe
markets do convey some needed information. But if I wanted an economic
system which fosters information, an alternative to communism/capitalism
seems more useful. (Parecon, maybe?)

I'd think that information can come from anyone making opportunity cost
decisions. And it seems that most economists don't know about
opportunity costs, so I'm a bit hesitant to believe many of their claims.
http://wiki.zmag.org/Opportunity_cost

Tayssir