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.And newfeatures raise safety questions simply because they are new.Which of the five goals should be foremost?It might seem obvious that safety should be most important.But howimportant? Should no car be sold unless it s absolutely accident-proof? If such acar is possible today (I don t know that it is), it might cost $500,000 or more.Should government use coercion to prevent you from buying any car that has theslightest chance of causing an accident? If it did, only the wealthiest peoplewould have automobiles.The rest of us would have to walk.Should good quality be the first consideration? To prohibit the sale of anyVCR that might someday break down would in effect prohibit the sale of VCRsthat cost less than $10,000 to produce.Would that be a good thing?Should good service be primary? Any company wants to keep its customershappy, and so it will always try to improve service but it has to consider priceas well.A fast-food restaurant knows you might like table service and maybea singing waiter as well but it doesn t want to charge too much for ahamburger.Should government require Burger King to deliver your Whopper ona silver platter and your Coke in a crystal goblet with your own personalwaiter to pick up your napkin if it falls to the floor? Would we all be willing topay $30 per hamburger for such service?Weighing the FactorsSafety, quality, features, and service all have to be weighed against price.Why? Because there s a limit to what you can and will pay.No consumer noteven the wealthiest has an unlimited budget.There s always a limit to what a customer will pay for a particular product.The limit varies between any two people, because each person must weigh:" How much money he has." How much he wants the product." Other attractive uses for the money. 78 Harry Browne / Why Government Doesn t WorkNo matter who he is, his resources are limited.And so he must weigh aproduct s price against the product s value to him, in light of the money he has tospend and all the other things he could spend it on.In the marketplace, each person makes his own choices the compromiseshe judges to be the best possible for himself without forcing his choices onhis neighbors.How to Handle Diverse DesiresBut if each person has his own standards, how can the needs and wants ofdifferent people all be served?The marketplace takes care of that automatically.Most companies offer products that are a little different from those of theircompetitors in order to catch the consumers who prefer those differences.That s why there are so many different car models to choose from.That s whythere are so many different computers and computer programs.That s why thereare so many different kinds of salad dressing in the supermarket, and so manydifferent dresses in the department store.In the marketplace, you get to weigh safety, quality, service, features, andprice by your standards and pick the product that s closest to what you want.And your choices don t keep anyone else from choosing what he wants.Everyone can make his own choice without preventing others from getting whatthey want.And the opportunity to choose isn t limited to products.It applies as well tothe services you require to such things as safety information, guaranteedrepair service, special help in making a selection, instruction in how to operate aproduct, a cheaper alternative, shopping without leaving your home, or almostanything else.If a sufficient number of people want it, someone will see thatdesire as an opportunity to profit, and will make the service available.It isn t necessary to muster a majority to make something available as it isin political matters.Many a company prospers by serving only 1% of its market because it provides the features the 1% want.For example, there are hundredsof magazines, each with a devoted readership.There are thousands of furnituremanufacturers, each producing the kinds of chairs that some people want.Thereare millions of businesses, each offering something a little different that somepeople want.And even when an industry, such as breakfast cereal, is dominatedby a few giant companies, each competes by offering dozens of choices.How Can You Know Everything?But are all those choices a blessing? Why Freedom Brings Prosperity 79How can you judge them? How can you test and rate such things as safety orquality? For example, how can you know whether a particular car is safe orreliable?Perhaps you can t.But there are people who can.They work for insurancecompanies and have to decide how much to charge you for auto insurance, basedpartly on the safety of the model car you want.They work for large leasingcompanies that need to know the long-term effects of buying one model overanother.They work for magazines like Consumer Reports or Motor Trend thatwant you to rely on them for guidance.And millions more of them theamateurs work for free, and will gladly tell you about their experience withthe products of a given manufacturer.All these experts are willing to help you.And if there were no experts, themakers of safe cars would have to devise ways to prove their products are safe.Otherwise, you d be afraid to buy a car and they d go out of business.One way or another, you re not alone.Someone is determined to help youget whatever it is you want.PROSPERITYFreedom brings prosperity because it allows every manufacturer and seller torespond to what his customers want.Freedom allows every employer to work outmutually agreeable conditions with his employees.The marketplace conveys vital information to all of us.When the price ofsomething goes up, it says there s a shortage so some producers can profit bymaking more of it to cure the shortage, and consumers can save money by usingit more sparingly.When the price of something falls, it says there s a glut sosome producers should switch to making something people want more, andconsumers who like this product should take the opportunity to use more of it.Anything that intrudes upon this arrangement by forcing prices upward ordownward, or by preventing producers from making what consumers want hurts all of us [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.And newfeatures raise safety questions simply because they are new.Which of the five goals should be foremost?It might seem obvious that safety should be most important.But howimportant? Should no car be sold unless it s absolutely accident-proof? If such acar is possible today (I don t know that it is), it might cost $500,000 or more.Should government use coercion to prevent you from buying any car that has theslightest chance of causing an accident? If it did, only the wealthiest peoplewould have automobiles.The rest of us would have to walk.Should good quality be the first consideration? To prohibit the sale of anyVCR that might someday break down would in effect prohibit the sale of VCRsthat cost less than $10,000 to produce.Would that be a good thing?Should good service be primary? Any company wants to keep its customershappy, and so it will always try to improve service but it has to consider priceas well.A fast-food restaurant knows you might like table service and maybea singing waiter as well but it doesn t want to charge too much for ahamburger.Should government require Burger King to deliver your Whopper ona silver platter and your Coke in a crystal goblet with your own personalwaiter to pick up your napkin if it falls to the floor? Would we all be willing topay $30 per hamburger for such service?Weighing the FactorsSafety, quality, features, and service all have to be weighed against price.Why? Because there s a limit to what you can and will pay.No consumer noteven the wealthiest has an unlimited budget.There s always a limit to what a customer will pay for a particular product.The limit varies between any two people, because each person must weigh:" How much money he has." How much he wants the product." Other attractive uses for the money. 78 Harry Browne / Why Government Doesn t WorkNo matter who he is, his resources are limited.And so he must weigh aproduct s price against the product s value to him, in light of the money he has tospend and all the other things he could spend it on.In the marketplace, each person makes his own choices the compromiseshe judges to be the best possible for himself without forcing his choices onhis neighbors.How to Handle Diverse DesiresBut if each person has his own standards, how can the needs and wants ofdifferent people all be served?The marketplace takes care of that automatically.Most companies offer products that are a little different from those of theircompetitors in order to catch the consumers who prefer those differences.That s why there are so many different car models to choose from.That s whythere are so many different computers and computer programs.That s why thereare so many different kinds of salad dressing in the supermarket, and so manydifferent dresses in the department store.In the marketplace, you get to weigh safety, quality, service, features, andprice by your standards and pick the product that s closest to what you want.And your choices don t keep anyone else from choosing what he wants.Everyone can make his own choice without preventing others from getting whatthey want.And the opportunity to choose isn t limited to products.It applies as well tothe services you require to such things as safety information, guaranteedrepair service, special help in making a selection, instruction in how to operate aproduct, a cheaper alternative, shopping without leaving your home, or almostanything else.If a sufficient number of people want it, someone will see thatdesire as an opportunity to profit, and will make the service available.It isn t necessary to muster a majority to make something available as it isin political matters.Many a company prospers by serving only 1% of its market because it provides the features the 1% want.For example, there are hundredsof magazines, each with a devoted readership.There are thousands of furnituremanufacturers, each producing the kinds of chairs that some people want.Thereare millions of businesses, each offering something a little different that somepeople want.And even when an industry, such as breakfast cereal, is dominatedby a few giant companies, each competes by offering dozens of choices.How Can You Know Everything?But are all those choices a blessing? Why Freedom Brings Prosperity 79How can you judge them? How can you test and rate such things as safety orquality? For example, how can you know whether a particular car is safe orreliable?Perhaps you can t.But there are people who can.They work for insurancecompanies and have to decide how much to charge you for auto insurance, basedpartly on the safety of the model car you want.They work for large leasingcompanies that need to know the long-term effects of buying one model overanother.They work for magazines like Consumer Reports or Motor Trend thatwant you to rely on them for guidance.And millions more of them theamateurs work for free, and will gladly tell you about their experience withthe products of a given manufacturer.All these experts are willing to help you.And if there were no experts, themakers of safe cars would have to devise ways to prove their products are safe.Otherwise, you d be afraid to buy a car and they d go out of business.One way or another, you re not alone.Someone is determined to help youget whatever it is you want.PROSPERITYFreedom brings prosperity because it allows every manufacturer and seller torespond to what his customers want.Freedom allows every employer to work outmutually agreeable conditions with his employees.The marketplace conveys vital information to all of us.When the price ofsomething goes up, it says there s a shortage so some producers can profit bymaking more of it to cure the shortage, and consumers can save money by usingit more sparingly.When the price of something falls, it says there s a glut sosome producers should switch to making something people want more, andconsumers who like this product should take the opportunity to use more of it.Anything that intrudes upon this arrangement by forcing prices upward ordownward, or by preventing producers from making what consumers want hurts all of us [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]