"We're all grossly ignorant about most things that we use and encounter in our daily lives, but each of us is knowledgeable about tiny, relatively inconsequential things. For example, a baker might be the best baker in town, but he's grossly ignorant about virtually all the inputs that allow him to be the best baker. What is he likely to know about what goes into the processing of the natural gas that fuels his oven? For that matter, what does he know about oven manufacture? Then, there are all the ingredients he uses -- flour, sugar, yeast, vanilla and milk. Is he likely to know how to grow wheat and sugar and how to protect the crop from diseases and pests? What is he likely to know about vanilla extraction and yeast production? Just as important is the question of how all the people who produce and deliver all these items know what he needs and when he needs them. There are literally millions of people cooperating with one another to ensure that the baker has all the necessary inputs. It's the miracle of the market and prices that gets the job done so efficiently. What's called the market is simply a collection of millions upon millions of independent decision makers not only in America but around the world. Who or what coordinates the activities all of these people? Rest assuredly it's not a bakery czar."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Journalists from the United StatesColumnists from the United StatesPeople from PhiladelphiaAfrican AmericansEconomists from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_E._Williams
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Walter E. Williams
37 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Walter E. Williams →
Related Quotes
"If FDA officials err on the side of under-caution in approving an unsafe drug, they are attacked by the media and pat…"
"In 302, the Roman emperor Diocletian commanded "there should be cheapness," declaring, "Unprincipled greed appears wh…"
"I personally believe that economics is fun and valuable. People who say they found it a nightmare in college just did…"
"Three-fifths to two-thirds of the federal budget consists of taking property from one American and giving it to anoth…"
"At the beginning of each semester, I tell students that my economic theory course will deal with positive, non-normat…"
""You can never be too safe." Yes, you can. How many of us bother to inspect the hydraulic brake lines in our cars bef…"
"There are several methods of conflict resolution. First, there's the market mechanism -- let the highest bidder be th…"
"there's the claim that this or that price is unreasonable. I used to have conversations about this claim with Mrs. Wi…"
""It's wrong to profit from the misfortune of others." I ask my students whether they'd support a law against doing so…"
"There is no moral argument that justifies using the coercive powers of government to force one person to bear the exp…"