Frank wrote on Mar 15
th, 2024 at 3:13pm:
So who decides what the community needs, if not the invisible hand?
TGD: Er...politicians (whether elected, or in a consensus meritocracy).
Quote:How do you get consensus (agreement with) if not by some election, ie SHOWING, EXPRESSING agreement with?
The important thing - to bring you back on topic - is to acknowledge that politicians decide what the community needs, not the invisible hand.
...whether the community expresses it by a 50% + 1 vote, as in a democracy, or by consensus of chosen officials, as in China.
But the idea that the self-interest-driven invisible hand "incentivizes producers to make what is
socially necessary (sic) even though they may care only about their own well-being", is obviously wrong, which is why governments have to intervene in 'invisible hand' markets.
See Keen's criticism in the following post.