Hi @delangel, I appreciated reading your perspective on these weekly readings and the insights you gave. One of the main points you stated, and I also found interesting from these articles, was the importance of value placed on products in the economy. Every product or service has a different importance and value for each individual based on how they will be using the item. Then when something of more value comes to market and replaces it, we tend to disregard what we once said was so valuable and easily replace it with something new. This is how our economy and marketplace is built. Always changing, always replacing, always finding new to replace the old. You used the quote,
“Simply put, an exchange comprises at least two individuals exchanging something that is valuable for something else that is also valuable" (Bylund, 2016, p.p.12-13).
This quote shows the idea of how people will make decisions to trade products within the market if they perceive that the new product still has value. It’s ironic that most people think things are more valuable if they are new, while others think old antique items are equally as valuable. But the trading of products is what makes our world economy work. However, I disagree with you on how this was a harder read than the Bastiat articles. I struggled with comprehending Bastiat because of the way that it was written, in legal jargon. I also disagree with you on the way you thought Bylund was trying to pin down how the economy works and how he was saying that the market/economy has a predictable future. I think that he was just expressing the way he saw how value of products works in society and that everything is always changing. And I agree with him on the fact that each person sees value differently based on the way they are going to use an item, how they have individual choices, and how they live in different ways. He also points out that the changing of technology and improvements in products has an effect on everyone and is what shapes our society. Overall, I think we both agree that individuals in our society have an influence on the products or services that are in our market and the value or price placed on the items. Businesses are the ones who help shape our market and give us the things that fit our wants and needs and entrepreneurs are the ones who do that but are able to adapt quickly with people's changing desires.