undefined | Better HN

0 pointsgeezerjay7y ago0 comments

> This is an absurd statement, the market is not a god. It does not have a value system.

The word "market" is just a convenient tag to refer to a collection of individuals like you and me looking to buy/sell goods and/or services, and deciding what's best for them given the choices available, their priorities, and the information they have.

Thus, when anyone refers to what "the market is willing to offer", they are referring to what the individuals like you and me who are shopping for a good/service are actually willing to pay in exchange for it.

Are you willing to pay a philosophy major a 70k/year salary for him to research a topic? No? Neither is anyone else. Thus, in short, the market for philosophy research is not willing to pay for that.

0 comments

ehrtt7y ago

Yeah, but there are two sides to that (voluntary) transaction. The person bidding for labor and the person offering their labor. If the buyer and seller can't agree then the transaction doesn't take place. The value of the labor is subjective.

Alex637y ago

Yes, and no. The value we place on our own labour is subjective, and the value that a buyer places on our labour is also subjective. You may value your labor at $100/hour, and if no one agrees to pay that price that doesn't mean you are wrong, it just means that there's no market for your labour at that amount.

At the same time, we can say that there is an objective value for labour of a certain type (I'm thinking of commodified labour), which is the going market rate. Just as there is, at any given point in time, an objective value for a share of Apple Computer.

geezerjayOP7y ago

> The person bidding for labor and the person offering their labor. If the buyer and seller can't agree then the transaction doesn't take place.

That's the whole point: "the market is willing to accept" only deals that are deemed acceptable to the two parties involves in the negotiation. It takes two to tango. Anyone is free to make outlandish offers but in order to make a deal happen it's absolutely necessary that someone willingly accepts them.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse