25 Images of Markets "Regulating Themselves"

From Daily Kos:

When economists talk about how a market "regulates itself," what they mean is that markets reach an equilibrium between supply and demand.

This says nothing about whether or not this equilibrium will be a good thing for society. It simply states that if consumers choose what to buy and producers choose what to sell and how to produce it, the market settles on a product distribution and prices.

Lately, many people I know have argued that "free markets" mean something more. They see markets as ethically right or ethically moral, meaning pursuit of profit always somehow leads to a greater good.

Unfortunately, morality isn't built into markets.

More here.

Capitalism, like fire, is useful, but also extraordinarily dangerous.

When we work with fire, we understand that only fools do not take safety precautions. I mean, we don't want to burn down the whole forest, after all. Same thing with capitalism. Only fools, which, in this case, means "libertarians," believe we should not take safety precautions, which, in this case, means "regulations." Frighteningly, these libertarian fools have the dominant voice in national affairs.

Which, in this case, means that the whole forest is burning down.

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