OT: Economics (was: Storing secrets...)

[Jerome Baum]

On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 02:19, Robert J. Hansen <rjh at sixdemonbag.org> wrote:

> > Nonetheless, it gets incredibly close. I wonder if there might be a cost
> involved with acquiring anything -- at the very least, you have to make the
> decision to acquire it.
>
> Necessarily there must be.  Free trade depends on value differentials,
> after all.


How about outside of trade? Say I breathe air. There is cost and value
involved. Remove the cost, and I'd still breathe the air. Trade requires two
parties, but acquisition doesn't. Of course, that limits us to exchanges
involving only one party and "nature". That's where the cost to society
comes in, which I excluded from consideration.

Now, for breathing there are several types of cost involved. I am exchanging
energy (through muscle movement) for fresh air. Additionally, I have the
opportunity cost of breathing instead of, say, eating.

Assuming I don't want to eat all the time, and looking at it on a larger
scale, I am just gaining new energy. So, could it be that there is no cost
(to myself, not to society, and also not indirectly through society to me)
to breathing air? Or would you say a "larger scale" interpretation doesn't
cut it?

Also, want to take this off-list?

-- 
Jerome Baum

tel +49-1578-8434336
email jerome at jeromebaum.com
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