This is merely the most apparent failure of "the market" (in scare-quotes because there is really no such thing as 'the market', but merely the actions of human beings), but failure is to be expected given: /2
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1. "Markets" only care about exchange-value, not human/sentient-being welfare, rights, etc 2. "Markets", to the extent they do care about human interests, take human interests into account grossly unequally. /3
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Compare how much they cater for a billionaire compared to a child in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance. 3. Even with exchange-value and wholly inequitable concern with human interests, "markets" don't pursue these aims rationally, systematically, or even deliberately /4
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but only indirectly - their immediate goals are serving the interests of an almost arbitrary concatenation of a mostly random and ever-shifting array of private interests. 4. "Markets" don't take into account externalities. 5. "Markets" don't exist on their own, but /5
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alongside state-structures (government, courts, the military, etc), laws, the institutions of civil society, social norms, etc (indeed, "markets" are in fact conceptually inseparable from these entities). /6
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The private interests of "the market" can and do subvert these for their own benefit. 6. Markets require 'primitive accumulation' to set themselves up, keep themselves going, and expand. This process is often brutal, oppressive, and suboptimal for humsn and ecological welfare./7
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I could go on, but these are some of the major problems with "the market". Impending ecological catastrophe is one, but only one, consequence. The problem before us, therefore, is how to have a world based on rational planning. /8
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(Note it must be the whole world, and not just some specific "society" within the world. Ecological crisis is a global problem, and can't be solved by just one country decarbonising. Likewise, the fact that 20,000 children die of poverty every day, and /9
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certain countries can obliterate others at will, demonstrates that the problem with "the market" isn't just at the scale of any one country, but with global structures and distribution as a whole.) /10
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The problems which face a world based on rational planning are numerous. These include: a) how to govern the world as a whole; b) calculation problems, c) how to stop rational planning descending into - or only being established on the basis of - tyranny; and /11
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d) corruption and the self-serving of those in charge of the planning. I have no idea how to solve these problems. But with climate change, it looks like working this out has moved beyond 'merely' improving welfare and rights, to avoiding the extinction of life on earth. 12/12
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Addendum: I should specify that by 'rational planning', I mean 'rational' in terms of both means and ends. We deliberate over what ends we should pursue, and then plan how best to achieve them.
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Addendum 2: One example of how the term "markets" conceals reality is when we talk about "encouraging" markets to do something. What we mean by that is making it in the financial interests of rich and powerful people to do that thing, so that they can make even more money.
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3: Another consequence of our focus on exchange-value rather than welfare, the priority given to the short-term and arbitrary interests of the rich over the long-term interests of all, and our lack of rational planning, is the sheer waste of talent:https://twitter.com/rcbregman/status/1138140965288448001?s=19 …
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Addendum 5: I missed one of the most important issues with tackling climate change - power.https://twitter.com/Evollaqi/status/1140411132143972352?s=19 …
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Addendum 6: Even if "the market" were to satisfy someone's preferences, that would not necessarily equate to use-value. Preferences are not exogenous to the economic system, but heavily influenced by it. For instance, look at the billions spent on advertising each year.
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