So what do we have here? It would seem that one company or
individual made a decision that they were not going to play by the
rules or they were going to set there own rules. Some would say this
is how economics works-the low priced producer will get the business.
But, if this story is true, it would appear that the low priced
company is increasing their profits by externalizing the pollution to
society in general. This is what many capitalist companies do as
well as socialist and communist organizations and
they get away with it because as a society we value competition more
than cooperation. Cooperation could have made the problem solvable.
In this case it would appear that one GREEDY company or individual
was able to unravel what many had put together. Economics we are
told is the driving force for many decisions. However economics is
really about values and what we value not about numbers although that
is the way it is often used. I am sure you have heard the espression
about some economists(they know the price of everything and the value
of nothing).
The bottom line of all of this to me is that with more people living
on the planet we need cooperation more and more. But in the large
picture global scene every one is being told that to compete and
survive in the world beating the competition is how the game should
be played. It has some very tough consequences for sustainability
and that is another story that will be dealt with later.
Bill Liebhardt
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