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1、Ch10MarketsMar220,19988/22/001©byArmenA.Alchian1999Chapter1WELCOMETOECONOMICS!WelcometoEconomics.Thisisyourtextbook.Itwasmadebythousandsofpeople,eachcontributingasmallpart,somehelpingmakethepaper,somemakingink,someprintinganddistributingthisbook.Nooneplannedita
2、ll.Yetyouhavethebook.Howdoesthathappeninaprivatepropertysocietysystem?Whyhasthatsystemdominatedallothersinproductiveability,growthandfreedom?And,whydosomepeopleearnmorethanothers?Equallypuzzling,whyneednooneunderstandhowallthathappens?Toyou,whoareabouttodiscove
3、rhowandwhy,“Congratulations”!ThisbookistitledUniversalEconomicbecauseit’saboutuniversalprinciplesthatarenotdependentontheparticularcultureoreconomicsysteminwhichyoulive.Theprinciplestranscendcultures.Iflearnedwell,youcaneasilyapplythemtowhatevereconomic,cultura
4、l,institutionalsysteminwhichyoulive.Itrecognizesalsothatifpeoplealwaysbehavedandcooperatedaspromisedandtherewerenotmisunderstandings,lifewouldbesimple–anddifferentfromwhatitreallyis.We’llevenbelookingatwaysofincreasingthereliabilityofpromisedbehaviorinmarkets,f
5、irms,governmentsandthefamily.ScarcityMotivatingallbehavioristheinevitableSCARCITY--yourwantsanddesiresexceedwhatisavailable.EversincethefiascointheGardenofEden,mostofwhatyouenjoyisacquiredbyyourefforts,accompaniedbystrain,sweat,andanxiety.Nomatterhowsuccessfuly
6、ourefforts,youwantevenmore.Twoapparentdevilsrestrictwhatyoucanhave--thelimitedamountsofgoods,andtherestofuswhowantthemtoo.Everyone,richfolk,too,liveinastateofscarcity.Andit'snotbecausesocietyproducesthe"wrong"things(cosmetics,beer,pop-jazz,TVgames)insteadofthe"
7、right"things(museums,symphonyorchestras,art).Thatcontentionrevealsmerelydifferent,not"right"or"wrong",tastes.Goods:EconomicorFreeA"good",asthatwordisusedinEconomics,isanythingofwhichmoreiswanted--milk,candy,shoes,gasoline,etc.“Goods"includesservicesaswellasphys
8、icalthings–servicesofdoctors,painters,carpenters,athletes.Freshchickeneggsaremoreplentifulthanstaleeggs.Butfresheggsarescarce;staleeggsarenot.Fresheggsareeconomicgoods--good
