Monday, March 20, 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Email Whitelisting
Best Retirement Wishes
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Investing
  • Stock
  • Top News
No Result
View All Result
Best Retirement Wishes
Home Economy

Altruism vs. Materialism in Market Exchange

by
March 4, 2023
in Economy
0
Altruism vs. Materialism in Market Exchange
0
SHARES
2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

[Excerpted from chapter 6 “Antimarket Ethics: A Praxeological Critique” of Power and Market.]

One of the most common charges levelled against the free market (even by many of its friends) is that it reflects and encourages unbridled “selfish materialism.” Even if the free market—unhampered capitalism—best furthers man’s “material” ends, critics argue, it distracts man from higher ideals. It leads man away from spiritual or intellectual values and atrophies any spirit of altruism.

In the first place, there is no such thing as an “economic end.” Economy is simply a process of applying means to whatever ends a person may adopt. An individual can aim at any ends he pleases, “selfish” or “altruistic.” Other psychic factors being equal, it is to everyone’s self-interest to maximize his monetary income on the market. But this maximum income can then be used for “selfish” or for “altruistic” ends. Which ends people pursue is of no concern to the praxeologist. A successful businessman can use his money to buy a yacht or to build a home for destitute orphans. The choice rests with him. But the point is that whichever goal he pursues, he must first earn the money before he can attain the goal.

Secondly, whichever moral philosophy we adopt—whether altruism or egoism—we cannot criticize the pursuit of monetary income on the market. If we hold an egoistic social ethic, then obviously we can only applaud the maximization of monetary income, or of a mixture of monetary and other psychic income, on the market. There is no problem here. However, even if we adopt an altruistic ethic, we must applaud maximization of monetary income just as fervently. For market earnings are a social index of one’s services to others, at least in the sense that any services are exchangeable. The greater a man’s income, the greater has been his service to others. Indeed, it should be far easier for the altruist to applaud the maximization of a man’s monetary income than that of his psychic income when this is in conflict with the former goal. Thus, the consistent altruist must condemn the refusal of a man to work at a job paying high wages and his preference for a lower-paying job somewhere else. This man, whatever his reason, is defying the signalled wishes of the consumers, his fellows in society.

If, then, a coal miner shifts to a more pleasant, but lower-paying, job as a grocery clerk, the consistent altruist must castigate him for depriving his fellowman of needed benefits. For the consistent altruist must face the fact that monetary income on the market reflects services to others, whereas psychic income is a purely personal, or “selfish,” gain.18

This analysis applies directly to the pursuit of leisure. Leisure, as we have seen, is a basic consumers’ good for mankind. Yet the consistent altruist would have to deny each worker any leisure at all—or, at least, deny every hour of leisure beyond what is strictly necessary to maintain his output. For every hour spent in leisure reduces the time a man can spend serving his fellows.

The consistent advocates of “consumers’ sovereignty” would have to favor enslaving the idler or the man who prefers following his own pursuits to serving the consumer. Rather than scorn pursuit of monetary gain, the consistent altruist should praise the pursuit of money on the market and condemn any conflicting nonmonetary goals a producer may have—whether it be dislike for certain work, enthusiasm for work that pays less, or a desire for leisure.19 Altruists who criticize monetary aims on the market, therefore, are wrong on their own terms.

The charge of “materialism” is also fallacious. The market deals, not necessarily in “material” goods, but in exchangeable goods. It is true that all “material” goods are exchangeable (except for human beings themselves), but there are also many nonmaterial goods exchanged on the market. A man may spend his money on attending a concert or hiring a lawyer, for example, as well as on food or automobiles. There is absolutely no ground for saying that the market economy fosters either material or immaterial goods; it simply leaves every man free to choose his own pattern of spending.

Finally, an advancing market economy satisfies more and more of people’s desires for exchangeable goods. As a result, the marginal utility of exchangeable goods tends to decline over time, while the marginal utility of nonexchangeable goods increases. In short, the greater satisfaction of “exchangeable” values confers a much greater marginal significance on the “nonexchangeable” values. Rather than foster “material” values, then, advancing capitalism does just the opposite.

18. W.H. Hutt actually goes this far in his article, “The Concept of Consumers’ Sovereignty,” Economic Journal, March, 1940, pp. 66–77.

19. It is also peculiar that critics generally concentrate their fire on profits (“the profit motive”), and not on other market incomes such as wages. It is difficult to see any sense whatever in moral distinctions between these incomes.

Related posts

It Turns Out that Hundreds of Banks Are at Risk

It Turns Out that Hundreds of Banks Are at Risk

March 20, 2023
Socialism Isn’t about Creating Economies. It Is about Amassing Political Power

Socialism Isn’t about Creating Economies. It Is about Amassing Political Power

March 20, 2023
Previous Post

Losing Control of Money

Next Post

The Fed’s “Disinflation” Story Just Flew Out the Window

Next Post

The Fed's "Disinflation" Story Just Flew Out the Window

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.
Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Do Correlations Help Define Money?

1 month ago
You just have to take some time to get to know Congestion Pricing

You just have to take some time to get to know Congestion Pricing

4 weeks ago
In Defense of Covid “Price Gouging”

In Defense of Covid “Price Gouging”

2 months ago

We’ve been back for a week and we’re already influencing the news!

2 months ago

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Economy
  • Editor's Pick
  • Stock
  • Top News
Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.
Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

POPULAR NEWS

  • Just Say No to the New Forever War

    Just Say No to the New Forever War

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • I went to 2+ climate change sessions at the ASSA meetings

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We Will Berry You

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mises Club Midwest Meetup

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Central Bankers Are Poor Archers: The Problems and Failures of Inflation Targeting and Price Stability

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Disclaimer

BestRetirementWishes.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively "The Company") do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Recent News

  • The New Deal and Recovery, Part 25: The RFC, Continued
  • Socialism Isn’t about Creating Economies. It Is about Amassing Political Power
  • It Turns Out that Hundreds of Banks Are at Risk

Category

  • Economy
  • Editor's Pick
  • Stock
  • Top News

Recent News

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 25: The RFC, Continued

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 25: The RFC, Continued

March 20, 2023
Socialism Isn’t about Creating Economies. It Is about Amassing Political Power

Socialism Isn’t about Creating Economies. It Is about Amassing Political Power

March 20, 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Email Whitelisting

© 2021 BestRetirementWishes. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Email Whitelisting
  • Home 1
  • Privacy Policy
  • suspicious-engagement
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Thank You

© 2021 BestRetirementWishes. All Rights Reserved.