emission rights

[kandrathe]

We produce and consume, but I think what eppie and I are talking about are wasteful production and consumption. Growth for the sake of growth, and getting the stock holders their 10% ROI.

Surely a libertarian should be sympathetic to the argument that people get to spend their money how they please, right? If a producer and a consumer agree upon a price, why shouldn't they trade? And if investors make money from investing in that process, isn't that good?

I must admit a genetically inherited bias against junk and waste. For example, my wife tends to buy the cheapest priced items, and they tend to break or exhibit shoddy workmanship. I believe in buying based on product value, and if I cannot afford to get something of reasonable value, I will defer the purchase until I can afford to get what I want. She loves the Dollar store, and I want to burn it to the ground. But, this has little to do with my libertarian ideology. I really despise tossing away broken crap that we never should have paid any money for in the first place.

Now, one answer, maybe the only good answer, is - externalities. There are costs (pollution) that none of the producer, the consumer, nor the investor are paying. But, so long as the externalities are controlled, why not let people make and buy whatever they want?

Yes, conservation is my main motivation here. There is limited amounts of many things, and so I want to ensure they are being put to productive purposes.

That's why I love Pigovian taxes. People get to choose how to spend their money - but if they want to spend it in ways that cost society, they pay accordingly.

Well, that leads us full circle I think. This is where corruption, smuggling, and the black market intrude to reward the bandits who avoid the prohibition or taxation.