Market Knowledge

Tacit Knowledge is the idea that there is stuff we know that we can’t explain. Virginia Postrel explores this powerful concept in “The Future and its Enemies”. That was the book that changed my mind about the pipe dream of a benevolent dictator, or even the desirability of central decision making. The stuff we really know is embodied. This means that decisions are best made by the people they affect. Not you. Not me. Not some undiscovered saviour. Real Adam Smith Capitalism is in the market-places where everyone has a voice. Small businesses. Small customers. Where price makes no pretence at being value. It is just an agreement between a buyer and a seller. Just a word that makes both participants happy. Capitalism is not Corporatism. Capitalism is the idea that you can build resources and reinvest them. That money/capital can be paid and our labour can be set free. Community Wealth (Capital) can empower people from the bottom up. Amplifying voices through an exchange is a much clearer indication of what people need, than a powerful representative (hopefully) making (good) decisions on their behalf.

Markets need Bottom Up Power