Choices
The world is run on individuals making choices and weighting the pros and cons of which action would benefit their wants and needs better than the other choices that they have to choose from. Gambling houses and casinos are examples of what it is like to be an entrepreneur, taking risks and weighting the pros and cons of what to do. Gamblers can bid high and win big or lose big, they can bid low and win low or lose low. Gamblers are bidding on what they think will let them win big and risk their money for the expectations of what will happen if they win the jackpot. Entrepreneurs take bets on what consumers will want to buy so that they can live comfortably.
"They bid for resources using the capital they have at hand, whether their own or invested by others, and bid as highly as they can while still estimating that their venture will earn a profit," (Bylund 2016, p.7).
Choosing Wants
Individuals change their wants to accommodate what they think would benefit them more than others, such as newer and bigger cars compared to older and smaller cars for families with more children or activities that involve more people than that of smaller families and groups of people.
"Henry Ford's production of automobiles disrupted transportation by offering a reliable means that didn't require ownership of and caring for horses," (Bylund 2016, p.11).
Cars that are more comfortable for longer drives and accommodating to more people are wanted more than cars that can not be sat in for long because of uncomfortable seats and can not fit a lot of people for events that people would rather only use one car for than multiple cars for. Phones are another example because everyone needs a phone that they can carry with them now that some are moving father away from home at earlier ages and can not always be at home to answer the landline phone calls from their family that is either miles or states away from where they are and they can not text them and let their family members know that they are safe and at a friend's house if a storm shuts the power down in the town.
New opportunities for improvement for different aspects of individuals' lives to make their lives more comfortable. Opportunities happen because of the choices that entrepreneurs make to earn a profit from risks. Opportunities can be lost when the entrepreneurs choose the better looking path that might be better or worse depending on the economy.
"...We cannot know what opportunities for improvement to our lives that we could lose by using existing resources to a greater degree," (Bylund 2016, p.12).
The value of objects and services changes daily be it from an individual or a community's point of view of that object or service that is being sold to them. The value will always be changing due to the output that it has, an example is a family heirloom that is being sold at an estate auction, the piece was priceless to the family because of the pieces meaning to the family while to people that did not know the family or the meaning behind the piece is, it is barely worth anything at all in their eyes. The outsiders can discard it easily when they are tired of it but the family it belonged to kept it in the family for years passing it down through the generations.
"Value is never automatic," (Bylund 2022, p.18).
The value of objects is ever changing due to the input that created it or what is can be used for or mean to different individuals and groups. Value of objects relies on the value the beholder has for the object in question.
Different choices change the outcome of projects that entrepreneurs invest their money an time into. Just like in video games and stories gamers choose quests and characters that they feel will help them beat the game in the shortest amount of time or explore the games environment the most between all the different characters, while writers must choose how to make their stories interesting and have people want to buy and read so that they can earn money to live and maintain their style of living that allows them to write stories and books that they want to write. A writer must choose to live the life they want that relies on people or live like others that do not have time for writing, there are always tradeoffs in life because of choices closing the doors of the other choices that were not chosen.
"That the actor must choose implies that he or she must make tradeoffs," (Bylund 2022, p.24).
References
• Bylund, P. L. (2016). Chapter 1: The How of the Market. In Seen, the unseen, and the unrealized: How regulations affect our everyday lives (pp. 1–14). essay, Lexington Books.
• Bylund, P. L. (2022). Chapter 1: What Economics Is. In How to Think About the Economy: A Primer (pp. 15–20). essay, Mises Institute.
• Bylund, P. L. (2022). Chapter 2: Economic Theory. In How to Think About the Economy: A Primer (pp. 21–26). essay, Mises Institute.
• Bylund, P. L. (2022). Chapter 4: A Process, Not a Factory. In How to Think About the Economy: A Primer (pp. 41–50). essay, Mises Institute.
The text makes the argument that individuals' choices drive the world and entrepreneurs take risks and weigh the pros and cons of their decisions in order to earn a profit. While this is true to some extent, it overlooks the role of institutions and social structures in shaping individual choices and the distribution of power and resources in society.
For example, not everyone has the same level of resources or opportunities to make choices that benefit their wants and needs. Factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status can limit or expand one's range of choices. Similarly, institutions such as government policies, education systems, and media can shape the values and preferences of individuals and groups.
The text also draws an analogy between gambling and entrepreneurship, but it overlooks the fact that gambling is a zero-sum game where one person's win is another person's loss, while entrepreneurship can create value for both the entrepreneur and the consumers.
“Gambling houses and casinos are examples of what it is like to be an entrepreneur, taking risks and weighing the pros and cons of what to do. Gamblers can bid high and win big or lose big, they can bid low and win low or lose low. Gamblers are bidding on what they think will let them win big and risk their money for the expectations of what will happen if they win the jackpot. Entrepreneurs take bets on what consumers will want to buy so that they can live comfortably.”Moreover, the text focuses mainly on the pursuit of profit as the main motivation for entrepreneurs, but it overlooks the potential for entrepreneurship to create social and environmental value as well.
On the other hand, the text correctly points out that the value of objects and services is subjective and depends on the meaning and context that individuals attach to them. I agree with the author's argument that value is not automatic and depends on the input that created it or what it can be used for or mean to different individuals and groups. For instance, a painting may hold sentimental value for its owner and be worth millions of dollars to them, but may be of little value to someone who does not appreciate or understand the art. It also acknowledges that choices involve tradeoffs and the need to make decisions based on incomplete information and uncertainty.
In conclusion, while the text provides some insights into the role of choice and entrepreneurship in shaping the world, it oversimplifies the complex interplay of social, institutional, and environmental factors that shape individual choices and the distribution of power and resources. A more critical analysis is needed to understand the full range of factors that shape the world we live in.
I like the way you used analogies throughout your essay to contextualize Bylund’s thoughts on entrepreneurship. However, I feel there is a lot more to be discussed, specifically about the free market. In chapter one of “Seen, the unseen, and the unrealized: How regulations affect our everyday lives”, Bylund talks a lot about a market that is out from under the burden regulation and political influence. In such a world, the free exchange is the fundamental unit for the betterment of society. In a free exchange, two individuals knowingly swap goods, services, or capital. Assuming there is no coercion or undue influence, these individuals are better off following this transaction because if they were not, they would not have gone through with it. I thought you had a quote that related to this very nicely: “Value of objects relies on the value the beholder has for the object in question”. For one individual, the product holds a higher value than the money that it costs to purchase it; for the other, the exact opposite is true. It is a simple concept but one that holds a lot of power and is important to the entrepreneur as it is the means to his livelihood.
I like how you discussed this concept of pros and cons of entrepreneurship. When entering production of a certain product, there is an inherent opportunity cost that comes as a result of choosing the fate of raw materials. This cost is the value that is lost because those materials were not used to produce something else. Unfortunately, opportunity cost is unavoidable, and it can be hard to predict the most efficient and cost effective route for a given set of materials, but this is what entrepreneurs have to do. It is even more tricky when time of production becomes a factor. If production takes a few weeks, there is a risk that the product will not be worth the same then as it does currently. Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to adapt quickly and use the unpredictable to their advantage. Because no one can accurately predict the future, everyone is on the same playing field when it comes to change. Pivoting quickly allows entrepreneurs to get out in front of the competition. This can be difficult, however, when a lot of resources are tied up in production.
I agree that our economy and innovation as an economy is driven by Entrepreneurs who are trying to make a profit, but I feel like you are downplaying the creativeness and overall aspirations of the entrepreneur. For example, a lot of time innovation from an entrepreneur could be swayed by losing a family member, and them wanting to do better by them. In a capitalistic society everything we do it for an exchange of money or some type of good. The entrepreneur is not going to completely change your life for the better and not expect anything in return. If that was how things were, we would be even more lazy as a society than we already are.
<"...We cannot know what opportunities for improvement to our lives that we could lose by using existing resources to a greater degree," (Bylund 2016, p.12).>
I liked this quote you used from Bylund because it incapsulates the way his mind would kind of be one tract obviously because he says we won't know the opportunities we would lose by reallocating resources. That is the whole idea of innovation in itself, right? How can I use these resources I have to live better or what can I use to do this quicker and easier? Always improving on the way you do task throughout your day-to-day life makes you more adaptive till eventually that is how you think about everything. I think that Entrepreneurs are people that have hardwired themselves to be people of growth. They are willing to lose which most people aren't willing to do. Most people want to play it safe and know that they are secure.
The value we place on things comes from the demand each one of us have for a certain material, for example, steel is needed for everything from infrastructure to flower bed borders which continue getting higher and higher like everything because we are demanding those products more, so the suppliers are raising their prices because he knows that we have to buy it. Bylund also made a reference to the economy always being a push and pull system. Demand goes up the price goes up, demand goes down and the price follows suit. I agree with you that the processes changing overtime are generally better than the one they preceded, but that is only because we learned better from that previous process the other person was doing it by.