If you voluntarily make an exchange with someone else, both of you gain value; both of you would prefer to have what you got from the trade more than what you lost.
This isnt exploitation, trade isnt zero sum. Billions of these little value gains are what civilization is made of!
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True, but nor are they fair. Or the assumption that exchanges are equal by some definition is unfounded. Exchanges are "voluntary" only compared to the alternatives each party faces. Hence exploitation is possible.
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even if it's only compared to the alternatives, it's still improving the situation. "Exploitation" is thus bettering their circumstances
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Sure, asymmetry of information is a real economic thing and it's not always benign.
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I am assuming informed trades, where people get the thing they think they're gonna get.
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Is it truly voluntary when you can only afford one of the many trade options available?
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Being in poverty and willingly doing a dangerous task for a small amount of money does not fit this description. Desperation is exploitable, and yet the desperate are still acting voluntarily
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how do you think about civilization 300 years ago, where a much higher % of the jobs were dangerous and by today's standards nearly everyone was in abject poverty?
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