Sixty errors

I’ve identified 60 common errors. There’s some overlap because I sometimes get carried away. But as Lewis Carroll’s Bellman said, “What I tell you three times is true.”

1.  In any exchange there must be a winner and a loser

2.  Riches are measured in terms of money

3.  Wealth is fixed, and people can only become richer by making others poorer

4.  Rich countries are wealthier because they have robbed poor ones

5.  Poverty has causes that can be studied. (No. It is wealth that has causes).

6.  It is good for us all to be as self-sufficient as possible

7.  Humankind has enough wealth now and should try to live simpler lives

8.  Value resides within objects rather than in our minds

9.  Things have an objective value that can be known

10. The value of objects derives from the inputs like labour it took to make them

11. When an object costs more than it cost to make it, someone is being exploited

12. The value of an object is constant

13. A pleasure enjoyed now is no more valuable than the same pleasure enjoyed later

14. A lender who charges interest is getting money for nothing

15. Charging interest should be condemned as immoral

16. Banks keep our money safe in their vaults

17. It is unfair that some borrowers are charged higher interest than others

18. It is wrong of banks to demand security or guarantees for some loans

19. All investors do is to live on some of the wealth generated by others

20. People who invest to increase their wealth are being greedy

21. Money should be used for sensible and worthwhile purposes, otherwise it would just be lying idle

22. The price of something should be a just and fair price

23. Prices of scarce goods, especially food, should have a maximum set by law

24. Minimum wage laws help the poor to get a better deal

25. The aim of production is to provide paying jobs for people to do

26. The 'equilibrium price' is the one at which demand matches the supply

27. It is desirable to have stable prices

28. Middle-men between producers and customers mark up prices, adding nothing to the goods they handle

29. Speculators are just gamblers who play no useful role in business

30. Profits are an unnecessary feature of business activity

31. Shareholders take profit from companies without contributing to their output

32. Almost anything can be used as money

33. Governments can and should issue as much money as they think they need

34. Some degree of inflation is acceptable because it boosts employment

35. Inflation can be used to smooth the ups and downs of the economy

36. Regulation of industry is always good for the consumer

37. The market tends to concentrate towards large monopoly suppliers

38. There are many natural monopolies which can only be restrained by detailed regulation to control the quality and price of their output

39. Competition is inherently wasteful because it duplicates products and some of them fail to sell

40. Too many choices only burden consumers

41. Taxation can be levied without distorting or damaging the economy

42. Higher tax rates are a simple way to make the rich pay their fare share

43. When business pays more taxes, it means people paying less

44. Taxes on capital are paid by rich people and do not hurt the economy

45. We can calculate what revenue increased taxes will bring by looking at the revenue produced by existing rates

46. Countries should try to be self-sufficient

47. Countries get rich by selling more exports and buying fewer imports

48. Countries should protect their own producers by restricting or taxing foreign imports

49. Countries should help their own manufacturers by subsidizing them

50. We should protect our goods against unfair competition from low-wage countries

51. People should buy locally-produced goods to aid the environment

52. Globalization causes net job losses in advanced economies.

53. Outsourcing of its production drains money from a country

54. The gap between richer and poorer countries is wider than ever

55. Poorer nations will only develop if richer ones give them more aid

56. International trade helps richer countries, not poorer ones

57. Agricultural subsidies help to produce cheap food

58. The world's wealth should be distributed more fairly to give poorer countries a decent share of it

59. People are not sufficiently knowledgeable to make sensible choices

60. Government can make more efficient use of resources than can private citizens or businesses

Madsen Pirie