Economic Innovation

I don’t really like the Democratic wholesalers idea.  Who gets to decide what’s best?  Does everyone in the country vote?  If it does, what if I don’t like the outcome?  Woodhouse gives the example of only buying polyester rather than cotton.  But what if I do my own research, and decide that I like cotton better than polyester?  I can vote, but if I lose, I can’t buy cotton.  And what about people who don’t just have a preference, but a need for a specific thing?  For instance, what about someone who is allergic to polyester?

I’m also not sure how it would work.  Not all commerce is done through wholesalers.  Would it become illegal to sell things without going through Democratic Wholesalers?  That idea makes me uncomfortable.  What if Democratic Wholesalers were to become corrupt?  I don’t like giving one group that much power.  Though it’s true that there are many entities in our current world that have a lot of power.

It’s interesting to consider what would happen were this system implemented.  I think people would become much more informed about the products they buy, since they need to vote on them.  Though maybe not, since people aren’t terribly informed about the political issues on which the currently vote.  I think a black market might emerge for the products that Democratic Wholesalers won’t buy.  It would be interesting to see what that would look like.  Because it would be illegal, advertising might be difficult (though maybe not, given the internet).

That said, I understand why it’s important to rethink our economic system.  I don’t think the heavy-handed Democratic Wholesalers idea is a good one, but maybe there could be another way.  The market system does not seem to be very effective at creating outcomes that are good for society, health, and the environment, since decisions are mostly made at the top, rather than coming from the bottom up.  Maybe there could be a modified Democratic Wholesalers system, wherein Democratic Wholesalers makes most of the decisions, but consumers still have freedom to deviate.  Maybe Democratic Wholesalers could choose what products were featured most prominently on store shelves, or gives discounts to certain products, while still allowing other products to be in the store.