Sunday, 13 October 2013

Covering the Iniquity.

I was reading about the cyclone in India, and came across the statement:

‘Panic buying is forcing up food prices.’

‘Forcing up food prices.’ That’s an interesting way of putting it; it’s the free market way of putting it, covering its greedy attitude by promoting acceptance of the self-serving mechanism. It’s an untruthful way of putting it. Food prices were not being 'forced up' at all. The true statement would read something like:

‘Unscrupulous vendors were charging inflated prices because they knew that frightened and desperate people would pay them, thereby capitalising on the misfortune of others in order to make inflated profit for themselves.’

If that’s the way the free market works, so be it; but at least be honest about it.

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