ps sorry for link on my own mastodon account :)

  • @lxvi@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    Basically you could have made more money if you charged more. That sort of logic works if you’re only considering isolated systems benefiting isolated individuals. There’s plenty of issues with charging more just because you can, namely inflation.

    The view is only taking into consideration the interests of the capitalist. From the user’s point of view, why should they have to pay more just because the capitalist can charge more?

    If you pay attention to how people actually talk about economics this is a known contradiction. In telecommunications, the US pays more for a lesser quality outcome. This is immediately recognized as a social contradiction. This same situation is true across the various industries.

    It becomes a social crisis rather than a minor inconvenience. First, people find themselves cheated at every social relation until they can no longer afford to live. Second, the nations ability to successfully reproduce itself is hindered: At the workers level because of the first, and at the infrastructural level because there is no reason to maintain vital infrastructure when you can charge the same without the maintenance and innovation; look to the railroads, which are gutting their own infrastructure to maximize profit. Third, the industrial base becomes a paper tiger. The nation is incapable of meeting stress demands on its industrial base. The Texas power companies maximized profit at the expense of their industrial base and when Texas froze over their was nothing anyone could do. The American Arms industry follows the same principles so dollar for dollar the US is the largest military in the world. The Ukraine conflict has exposed the US’s inability to meet the stress demands on its industrial base caused by a major conflict; whereas, Russia has been able to meet and exceed the demands with a tenth of the budget.

    So what are we talking about when we’re talking about the maximization of profit? Are we talking about gadgets and gizmos that can be taken or left, or does economics concern itself with the industrial capacity of a nation and its ability to sustain its vital interests?

    But none of this really has to be said. If everyone is maximizing prices on everything we can tell by the premise alone where that system is going to lead.