Re: climate change times are a changin'
In certain circumstances, yes. That's a no-brainer. The free market is a means to an end, not the end itself. An unregulated market is as much of a disaster as a completely government-run marketplace (aka, communism).
There are things the market doesn't price in, either because it can't or is unwilling to. These things are called externalities, which are themselves a subset of things known as market failures. This is basic economics 101 stuff; hell, this is high school economics stuff.
Pollution is literally the textbook example of a negative externality. If company X is spewing sulfur dioxide which is causing acid rain 3 states away on homeowner Y's property, that's a negative cost that will not be reflected in the price of company X's goods. Guess how we correct for that market failure?
Originally posted by Tiggsy
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There are things the market doesn't price in, either because it can't or is unwilling to. These things are called externalities, which are themselves a subset of things known as market failures. This is basic economics 101 stuff; hell, this is high school economics stuff.
Pollution is literally the textbook example of a negative externality. If company X is spewing sulfur dioxide which is causing acid rain 3 states away on homeowner Y's property, that's a negative cost that will not be reflected in the price of company X's goods. Guess how we correct for that market failure?
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