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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Econosphere, The: What Makes the Economy Really Work, How to Protect It, and Maximize Your Opportunity for Financial ProsperityEconosphere, The: What Makes the Economy Really Work, How to Protect It, and Maximize Your Opportunity for Financial Prosperity

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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Econosphere, The: What Makes the Economy Really Work, How to Protect It, and Maximize Your Opportunity for Financial ProsperityEconosphere, The: What Makes the Economy Really Work, How to Protect It, and Maximize Your Opportunity for Financial Prosperity

Learn More Buy

The Kinder, Gentler Econosphere

The Econosphere is a natural system that challenges us to improve via competition, but it never takes away from our great shared wealth. What appears to be seizure are just shifting relative surpluses and deficits that affect market prices and incentives. This is another important point. In the Econosphere, for one to win, it does not dictate that another loses. It is a natural system that challenges us to improve via competition, but it never takes away in the aggregate.

It is clear that some people who do not fully grasp this natural system that sustains us might, in fact, believe that the untamed, wild Econosphere is a malevolent force robbing the weak or innocent. I believe that they are wrong. I would even go so far as to argue that the Econosphere is not even a neutral system. Rather, our economy is a benevolent system that rewards those who come to terms with it and learn to understand and live in harmony with it. I might also argue that the economy is forgiving in that it rarely takes away from those who otherwise are not believers and who see only anarchy in the workings of the Econosphere. After all, you don't have to believe in the wisdom of the market to be governed by the economy's system of incentive and disincentives. It governs us all, and while it is a trusted advisor and mentor to those who see Adam Smith's "invisible hand" (where in a free market, an individual pursuing his own self-interest tends to also promote the good of his community as a whole) as a guide, others do not see a hand, but rather a cruel and random unseen force.

Even if personal outcomes from one person to another are at times similar, the personal experience and interpretation can be quite different. Remember, we are all utility maximizers, and we equate utility with happiness. Seeing the Econosphere for what it is and what it provides is certainly happier and more comforting than fearing perceived chaos. Without understanding the functioning of the economy, you might see only the outcomes without ever understanding the reason behind those outcomes, and that's just not any good at all.

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