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Son, you're old enough to know the truth. There's no such thing as "the invisible hand of the market"
McSweeney's ^ | 15 Sept 2023 | Kathryn Baecht

Posted on 09/21/2023 7:58:10 PM PDT by anthropocene_x

Son, you’re eight years old now, and you’ll probably hear this soon enough from the other kids on the playground anyway, so I might as well tell you. Santa isn’t real, the Tooth Fairy is imaginary, and there’s no such thing as the “invisible hand of the market.”

Why did your mother and I lie to you? Well, we didn’t so much lie to you as tell you stories that were untrue, stories that we hoped would add magic to your childhood and also reassure you that capitalism is a good and fair system for everyone, instead of one in which some people can’t afford insulin while other people are Jeff Bezos.

And the thing is, back when Mom and I first told you about the invisible hand, we actually believed in it ourselves—not as a real hand, of course, but as a metaphor for a fundamental principle of economics. The principle I naively thought would save us when I got laid off, but then our mortgage went underwater, and it turned out that not one of Mom’s 223 Facebook friends wanted to get in on that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she was pursuing at Lularoe.

(Excerpt) Read more at mcsweeneys.net ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: economy; inflation; jobs; kathrynbaecht; lyingliberalliar; lyingliberalliars; mcsweeneys
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1 posted on 09/21/2023 7:58:10 PM PDT by anthropocene_x
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To: anthropocene_x

What is Lularoe?


2 posted on 09/21/2023 8:04:02 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: anthropocene_x

Since I have never heard of such I will not miss it.


3 posted on 09/21/2023 8:04:05 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Procrastination is just a form of defiance)
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To: anthropocene_x

Whatta cynic! Of course there is an “invisible hand of the market”. Subverted from time to time, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real.


4 posted on 09/21/2023 8:04:14 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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To: anthropocene_x
I guess this is some kind of satire ...
rails against capitalism ...
but
quote from article ...
How did we scrape together your tuition while I was out of work? We turned our shed into an Airbnb, our mailbox into a FedEx dropbox,

so capitalism bailed them out when capitalism failed them.

5 posted on 09/21/2023 8:05:58 PM PDT by 1of10 (be vigilant , be strong, be safe, be 1 of 10 .)
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To: anthropocene_x

“But Dad, if Santa isn’t real, then how can socialism possibly work???”


6 posted on 09/21/2023 8:06:33 PM PDT by cockroach_magoo (“Sure we’ll have Fascism here, but it will come as an anti-Fascism movement.”  - Huey Long)
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To: anthropocene_x

I feel dumber for wasting 5 minutes reading that drivel.


7 posted on 09/21/2023 8:10:09 PM PDT by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
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To: Sequoyah101
"The invisible hand," is a term and concept introduced in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, which describes how free markets are naturally inclined and led to satisfy both production and consumption.

It is frequently lauded as one of, if not the founding document of the free markets system.

8 posted on 09/21/2023 8:17:44 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack
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To: anthropocene_x

Government is to the hand of the market as Islam is to the hands of 9etty thieves. So when it’s broken we bksme the market and pine for more of what broke it. D’oh! [eyeroll]


9 posted on 09/21/2023 8:20:45 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: anthropocene_x
Looked it up and was a spelling sort of problem.

It IS LuLaRoe.

A pyramid scam like Amway.

10 posted on 09/21/2023 8:24:20 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: anthropocene_x

Ummm… yes it is.

Just because you don’t understand the concept doesn’t mean the effect isn’t true.


11 posted on 09/21/2023 8:29:21 PM PDT by Skywise
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To: anthropocene_x

There is a visible hand of government... it’s like a prostate exam.


12 posted on 09/21/2023 8:35:05 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: anthropocene_x

An example of child abuse.

Son…work hard, work smart, give more value than what you charge, think and grow rich.

And above all, don’t fall for the Marxism crap.


13 posted on 09/21/2023 8:37:14 PM PDT by jdsteel (PA voters elected a stroke victim and a dead guy. Not a joke. )
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Well, at least they want to wear masks and surgical gloves when they give you an exam these days. 😂


14 posted on 09/21/2023 8:44:51 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA (The Delay Trump’s trial, delay. Elect Trump President. Trump pardons himself. )
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To: Joe 6-pack

Enlightening. We have not had a free market in a very long time. Both consumption and production have been manipulated at least by this government.


15 posted on 09/21/2023 8:51:26 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Procrastination is just a form of defiance)
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To: anthropocene_x
The big mistake about "free market theory" is that it assumes that all human beings are "rational actors," in the sense that they all make decisions based solely on their economic interest. That all people regard other people as fellow "rational actors," and everyone seeks to maximize profits, minimize costs.

But people are not interchangeable "rational actors." They make decisions based on tribal loyalty. They'll take economic hits to promote their family, friends, ethnicity, religion, nationality, values, beliefs, concepts of honor, and to block or hinder their tribal opponents.

People are not automatons, doing cost benefit analyses upon every human interaction, calculating only the profits and losses and nothing else.

The "free market," such as it is, is messy, irrational, and unpredictable. And yes, at times it can even be inefficient, unfair and immoral.

16 posted on 09/21/2023 9:44:58 PM PDT by Angelino97
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To: Angelino97
The "free market," such as it is, is messy, irrational, and unpredictable.

Henceforth, it should always be referred to as the "democratic market", people voting with their money and their feet. Putty-brained Demonrat emotion is 100% controlled by language.

17 posted on 09/21/2023 10:20:35 PM PDT by Reeses
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To: Deaf Smith; SaveFerris; PROCON; gundog

From Wikipedia:

the company allegedly advised its distributors “to borrow money [...] take out credit cards, and some were even asked to sell their breast milk” as ways to buy additional inventory

So let me get this straight. Folks are arguing over Lularoe’s products and business practices. Meanwhile, there is an untapped (no pun intended) market for breast milk? Someone needs to get on top of that pyramid! (No pun intented).

KreamArica Industries has just been born! You never know where that invisible hand will land!


18 posted on 09/21/2023 11:51:45 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: cockroach_magoo

Post of the day!


19 posted on 09/22/2023 12:01:56 AM PDT by curious7
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To: anthropocene_x

In a way Evolution is a lot like natural markets. It is quite amazing the numerous innovations nature has come up in the selfish pursuit of survival for individual species. The invisible hand is not alone.


20 posted on 09/22/2023 12:21:37 AM PDT by Nateman (If Mohammad was not the Anti Christ Mad Moe definitely comes in as a Strong second..)
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