[lbo-talk] IT innovation and "the Markets"

[John Thornton]

Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
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> ----- Original Message ----
> From: John Thornton <jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net>
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> I'm curious how central planning can gauge demand and price.
> Seems to me markets do that fairly well.
> I'm not an economist however.
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> [WS:] Good question, indeed, but loaded with an assumption that "demand" is something that occurs naturally - it just happens to be "out there" and the markets serendipitously "discover it" whereas central planning cannot, because it ah, so bureaucratic.
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> But "markets" are quite bad at distributing goods that may be genuinely needed but that capitalist industry cannot produce very well, because they not very profitable.  These are the so-called public goods (anything from fire protection to defence, to health, education and knowledge.)  markets are very ineffcient in producing or distributing them, and that is wht they are produced and distriburted by governments.  Even in Amerika.
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> Markets exceeded planning in the distribution of *manufactured* demand - such as fashion.  Have you noticed that almost all the "horror stories" from Russia and EAstern Europe about pertain to the shortage of fashion goods (like fashionable clothing, gadgets, entertainment products etc?)  When I was in Russia in the 1960s I saw a bewildering amount of stuff in Moscow's GUM (Centarl Department Store) - but few of them were "cool" in the sence of marketer manufactured cool that characterizes fashion products here (clothing electronic gizmos etc.)  
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> To put things a bit further - markets are quite good at producing and distributing shit that nobody really wants or needs but is bamboozled to demand by relentless marketing.  In other qords, it is quite good at polltuting the environment, both natural and social.  I do not exactly call that "superiority."
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> Wojtek

Well I was talking about widgets.
I know that demand can be created to a large degree but not all widgets 
are bad. Some are pretty cool.
Sort of like art. You can't really gauge demand for art very well sans 
markets can you?

John Thornton