tail of the tape

This will be a running list of sub-optimal outcomes of market behavior (maybe absent information failure, which is itself a whole other topic):

• massive campaign spending ... almost entirely wasted
• "publish or perish" ethic in universities meshes with the profit driven (sound bite driven) media to produce meaningless conclusions of studies, which causes the public to be cynical about the outcomes of research and ultimately less scientifically conciencous


• see above on costs of nitrogen pollution on the environment outstripping the benefits to agriculture


• heavily polluting industries are located on city waterfronts, where the pollutants can most easily enter water and the ecosystem, because nobody wants these facilities in their "backyard"
• anti-ballistic missile systems
• vaccine resistant viral strains
• increasingly complex, mechanized, global food system causes food to become more dangerous (and wasteful and unhealthy) ... furthermore some of the money we save on cheap food will go to cover increased need for resources at the FDA
• the cost of childcare, health care, and education have skyrocketed because these efforts are no longer provided by individuals (for themselves), families, and communities. Result: people work all day to pay for the things they used to do themselves -- meanwhile children and the elderly are warehoused in substandard institutions.


• artistic expression distorted because of market incentives based on popular aesthetic tastes nurtured by artistic expression distorted by market incentives


• lack of decent transit because of lack of funding because of lack of ridership because of lack of decent transit


• invasive species due to global shipping and travel ... sometimes requiring entire species to be be genetically preserved/regenerated (see: emerald ash bore)

• expensive weddings cause marriages to fail "Opulent ceremonies cited as reason for falling marriage rates in Gulf state, as costs deter many from tying the knot." http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/2013325960553179.html
• Ticketmaster

I participated in an engaging conversation with some family members over dinner last Friday evening. Uncle George pointed out, in response to my broad statements about the dominance of markets over law, culture, and institutions, that "the market" was not a monolithic entity but rather the dynamic result of the ever changing needs and values of all market participants (i.e. everybody). He also posed a very good question, "what policy changes would I advocate as an alternative to our contemporary reality (i.e. the global urban market)?".

I was not able to carefully state my thoughts at the time of that discussion, but now while my brain is at ease, it is much easier to elaborate. The problem with the global urban market is that, by its own nature, it tends to break down ALL non-market institutions. That is because even self-interested (i.e. market friendly) community oriented behavior is subsumed by the atomizing force of the market. For example, consider how some musical genres have been shaped from their beginnings in market-weak urban centers (the ultimate breeding ground for non-market culture, for a prime example see New Orleans) to later stages of mass consumption. The effect of the breakdown in non-market institutions is not only that we loose a certain social aesthetic diversity, but more importantly, that the values that drive market demand ARE GENERATED AND MODIFIED BY THE MARKET ITSELF. Therefore the contemporary state is one of exponentially market oriented behavior (demand built upon decades of institutionally eroding market dominance).

So what "real" changes can I advocate to counter this situation? In general I will advocate for building and participating in non-market institutions (families, spiritual communities, ethics organizations, clubs, sports) ... and pressing for change where the market has intruded. This tends to involve spending as little money on participation, and making the institutional structure as informal as possible. This view informs my policy preferences as well.