Where Markets Fail: Visible Hands

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Jul 24, 2017 in Blog, Where Markets Fail | 0 comments Markets are less perfect than commonly assumed. I have discussed their inability to price unknowns; the blindness of the assumptions that underlie market activity; that the implicit presumption that market fungibility bears consequences; and that markets are not systemic. How else do markets fail? They have visible hands, not invisible ones. Markets rely on symmetries between sellers and buyers,...
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Where Markets Fail: Markets Are Not Systemic

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on May 30, 2017 in Blog, Where Markets Fail | 0 comments How else do markets fail? Markets are usually not systemic. Instead, from the bird’s-eye perspective of “Capitalism,” many businesses are “opportunities” in the same way that it feels good to hit yourself in the head with a hammer: It’s much better once you stop. For example, the rising sea levels induced by climate change necessitate the construction of seawalls to...
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Where Markets Fail: Markets Assume Fungibility

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Mar 27, 2017 in Blog, Where Markets Fail | 0 comments Have you ever lent a postage stamp to someone who rather than paying you back with an actual postage stamp, gave you the nominal amount of the stamp, say US 40¢, instead? This is aggravating because while the transaction is fungible due to the presumed exchangeability of currency, it is not an equal transaction. Why? Because acquiring a postage stamp requires much more than just 40¢. It also...
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Where Markets Fail: An Imperfect Discounting Mechanism

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Dec 7, 2016 in Blog, Where Markets Fail | 0 comments I am an avid fan of capitalism as well as a critic. While I agree that markets are generally better at discounting the future than individuals, there are inherent flaws in the markets that are difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. I point out these weaknesses because, just like with any mental model and organizing principle, knowing the weaknesses is the first step in avoiding or...
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