Bryan Caplan on the Myth of the Rational Voter
EconTalk
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The Importance of Intentions in the Market
Economists have been saying for centuries that just because someone's intentions are self-interested, does not mean the social consequences will be good or bad. Most economists would say normally, under normal market conditions, the economic consequences of someone trying to make money are that they wind up serving their fellow men. If you always go and cheat your customers, people may eventually say, I don't really want to pay just to be cheated. And if they could raise their prices higher, they would. That's right.
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