At least future generations will know that not all of us were self-destructive, shortsighted fools. Knowing folks like this exist gives me hope.

trade-free.org/

💕

#TradeFree

@aral say this were adopted globally and it was only demand ↔ supply (but no prices).

- how can we use scarce goods efficiently without a price mechanism?
- why would people produce goods that aren't fun to make?
- what would stop drug users from consuming but not producing?

@aral @bjorn
- how can we use scarce goods efficiently without a price mechanism?
Based on need. Take organ transplant. Scarce resource. If we trade it and put a price on it, it becomes a mess. Corruption, bad incentives, only the rich can get some, and so forth. But in more developed tribes/countries they are reinforcing the non-trade of such scarce resources and are distributing them based on who is closer to the donor, who is more compatible and so forth. Much saner. There are organizations that already have to deal with scarce resources without putting a price tag for them. We address such issues in The Money Game and Beyond book.
why would people produce goods that aren't fun to make?
Need. Or the fact that the end result might be meaningful. I managed some 30-40 websites and at times there is no fun doing server backups and maintenance. Thousands of people use our services as trade-free and that makes me happy in the end. There are so many volunteers in the world doing all kinds of things that are not fum. They do it to save lives, to improve the society, to learn something new, etc..
what would stop drug users from consuming but not producing?
I do not understand this one. Can you elaborate? :)

@tio @aral

On the drug user question, in our current world, the buyer must produce something in order to have the funds to buy scarce drugs.

Their supply is their demand.

Relying purely on charity, the user does not need to produce in order to consume. And there is no incentive for the drug producer to supply vast quantities to the non-paying user.

It again comes back to price as a signal of scarcity.

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@aral @bjorn Are we talking about medicine or "drugs" as in psychedelics and such?

@tio @aral it works for both.

Drugs (pharmaceutical or otherwise) come at a cost, and it's paid through charity or otherwise.

But someone has to pay. Check out the Mises article linked in the other reply for more background on medical costs before state welfare.

Scarcity is a major driver.

@aral @bjorn So what is your question? Will humans be incentivized to create medicine? Or drugs? Why would they not be unless you force them?

Scarce drugs are today scarce because of artificial scarcity where you can't produce the same medicine since someone else owns the patent for trade reasons. When the guy who invented the Polio vaccine gave it away for free, that's an example of how we should do it. And he saved countless lives.
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