Agorist Thesis #6

Agorist Thesis #6 - Markets collect, organize, and distribute information more rapidly, accurately, fairly, and efficiently than any central authority could ever do, even with superior resources.

Markets work with information in a decentralized manner.  Each individual in the market makes information decisions for themselves - whether it be to share information, consume (take in) information, and how much time to spend doing each of these things.  Markets share information in a decentralized manner - whether this information is prices, details about products, instructions, etc.

If you live in the United States, and have attended any of the Occupy (Wall Street) rallies, there is a free market of ideas there - where anyone can go out and share their ideas with others.

The internet is one of the best examples of markets operating in today's world; there is a free market of ideas online, where pretty much anyone can share their knowledge on a topic.  When it comes to collecting, organizing, and distributing information, just look at the various tools on the internet that are used for this purpose - Wikipedia, for example, has nearly 4 million articles that have been created and edited by millions of users.

Torrents are another example of the success of market  - various members share information with others so users can get what they need, whether it be games, books, movies, music, etc.  Once information is out in the swarm, tough luck getting rid of it.  Bitcoin, based on the same concept as Torrents, is a decentralized digital currency based on individual interactions, without any central authority.

The US emergency alert test last month showed a drastic failure of government trying to spread information - it left individuals confused, and in some states it didn't even work!

Top-down planning doesn't work because individuals are best at making decisions for themselves.  If there's information I feel is worthy to share with others, I might share this information using email, a phone call, through a text, on facebook, by word of mouth, etc.  Because in the market it is up to individuals to decide what's worth sharing, information is spread fairly based on individual preference.   In a hierarchy, the planners are the ones who get their information shared, and those lower in the chain might not get their information shared as much as it should be.

If I wanted to sell a car, I would probably tell my friends and family about it, and have them tell who they think would be interested.  This form of voluntary interactions to spread information is always preferable and more efficient than central planning.

Agorist Theses originally from An Agorist Manifesto by Kyle Bennett.