I previously listed Myth #1 as: "Wealth is a static quantity." Those few that have heard me speak on this in the past know that I like to refer to this as the "Zero-Sum Game," or "ZSG." The ZSG requires that for every winner there must be a loser; that for every dollar of wealth earned someone else must be shorted a dollar of wealth.
If you studied physics, this seems logical on the surface. It's just like Newton's Laws or Conservation of Mass. Every dollar is a dollar and if you have it then necessarily I do not. However if you allow yourself to think this is the whole picture then you have to believe that in an exchange the person "losing the dollar" is getting nothing in return. But if wealth only exists in terms of monetary notes then there could be no wealth at all. Think about it: who would spend money if they got nothing in return? How would you get money if you had no other "wealth" to exchange for it? And who would then accept money if they could not later spend it? Cash would become both priceless and worthless, which just does not make any sense.
In short this view accepts the idea that the wealthy are no better than muggers holding guns, stealing cash from the wallets of others. And if that were true it would make perfect sense to retaliate in kind; i.e. "let's use our power to steal some of those dollars back."
Logic dictates, however, that this is not the case. A dollar has no intrinsic value apart from what it can buy. The ZSG view says you would rather have the dollar than, say, the cup of coffee you just bought. The Capitalist view says you would rather have the coffee or else you would not make the trade. Rational men engage in trade voluntarily and make fair trades; often trading "up". The existence of the "win-win" situation makes the ZSG view simply impossible.
If I have succeeded in my goal of busting this myth, then hopefully your mind is already leaping ahead to the consequences of this knowledge. However that is the purview of a later post. I look forward to our journey together toward that end.
On the other hand if there is anyone out there who can point out any factors they think I failed to consider I would love to begin the debate here. Either way, please comment below.
Stay tuned for Myth #2!
If you studied physics, this seems logical on the surface. It's just like Newton's Laws or Conservation of Mass. Every dollar is a dollar and if you have it then necessarily I do not. However if you allow yourself to think this is the whole picture then you have to believe that in an exchange the person "losing the dollar" is getting nothing in return. But if wealth only exists in terms of monetary notes then there could be no wealth at all. Think about it: who would spend money if they got nothing in return? How would you get money if you had no other "wealth" to exchange for it? And who would then accept money if they could not later spend it? Cash would become both priceless and worthless, which just does not make any sense.
In short this view accepts the idea that the wealthy are no better than muggers holding guns, stealing cash from the wallets of others. And if that were true it would make perfect sense to retaliate in kind; i.e. "let's use our power to steal some of those dollars back."
Logic dictates, however, that this is not the case. A dollar has no intrinsic value apart from what it can buy. The ZSG view says you would rather have the dollar than, say, the cup of coffee you just bought. The Capitalist view says you would rather have the coffee or else you would not make the trade. Rational men engage in trade voluntarily and make fair trades; often trading "up". The existence of the "win-win" situation makes the ZSG view simply impossible.
If I have succeeded in my goal of busting this myth, then hopefully your mind is already leaping ahead to the consequences of this knowledge. However that is the purview of a later post. I look forward to our journey together toward that end.
On the other hand if there is anyone out there who can point out any factors they think I failed to consider I would love to begin the debate here. Either way, please comment below.
Stay tuned for Myth #2!
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