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1、1theneoclassicaltheoryoftheconsumerLetusreturntothestateofnatureandconsidermenasif...sprungoutoftheearth,andsuddenly,likemushrooms,cometofullmaturitywithoutanykindofengagementtoeachother.—ThomasHobbes,DeCive;or,TheCitizen[1651],editedwithanintroductionbySterlingP.Lamprecht(NewYork:Applet
2、on-Century-Crofts,1949),100TheFoundationofUtilityTheory—DirectExchangeinaPureBarterEconomyImagineyouaredrivingalongahighwaybehindatruckloadedwithmer-chandise.Aboxfallsoutandlandsonthesideoftheroadandyoustoptotakealookandexaminethecontents.TheboxisfullofCDs(compactdiscs)ofallsorts—classic
3、almusic,countryandwestern,hip-hop,jazz,Hawaiian,andblues.Thereisnothingintheboxtoindicateownership—noinvoice,nonameonthebox—andyoudidnotnoticethenameonthetruck.Youareonyourwaytoyoureconomicsclassand,feelingslightlyguiltyabouttakingthebox,youdecidetodistributetheCDstoyourclassmates.Suppos
4、etherearetwentypeopleinyourclassandyouhave500CDstohandout.Youstarthandingthemoutrandomly,notnecessarilyevenly—somepeopleendupwithlotsofCDsandsomewithonlytwoorthree.Sonowthereisagroupoftwentypeoplesittingaroundatablewith500CDsrandomlydistributedandunevenlydividedamongthem.Thissetsthestage
5、forlearningabouthoweconomiststhinkaboutprices,markets,freetrade,socialwelfare,utility,andefficiency.6thewalrasiansystemTheExchangeofGoodsinaPureBarterEconomyThethreestartingpointsfortheanalysisthatfollowsare:1.ThenumberofCDstotrade(500)isfixedbeforetradingstarts.2.ThedistributionoftheseC
6、Dsamongthetwentypeopleisgivenbeforetradingstarts.3.The(musical)preferencesofthetwentyindividualsdonotchangedur-ingthebargainingprocess.Nowthefunbegins.Youreconomicsteacherseizestheopportunitytoteachtheclassaboutmarketexchangeanddevotestheclasstimetoestablish-inga“marketequilibrium.”Yourf
7、ellowstudentsstarttradingCDs—BrittneySpearsforBadReligion,ShostakovichforMetallica,orGreenDayforDaleWatson.Tradinggoesonformostoftheclassaspeoplehaggle,barter,trade,andretradetogettheCDstheywant.Aἀeranhourorso,thingsgetquietasnooneiswillingtomakeanotherdeal.Thestudentshav
