How limits to economic freedom are behind SA’s failures

Business Day - 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

byRICHARD J GRANT

Economics is entirely about human relationships. None of the other “scarce resources” would have any value at all without people.

No resources are employed without the employment or attention of at least one person. And there is no “economy” without an exchange between at least two people. We are blessed, though, to have millions of people with whom we might find friendship and with whom we might engage in mutual service through exchange.

Throughout the centuries people have engaged in trade with others near and far. Today we can buy goods made by people from almost anywhere in the world, people we are unlikely to meet. Yet, through a complex supply chain, we have a network of friendships, mostly anonymous and distant, each of which is consummated through the mutual benefits of trade.

Our connection to those people makes possible the lives we lead and the standard of living derived from all the services and goods available to us. Our relationship with them protects us from the loneliness and poverty of self-sufficiency.

Employment

Employment is central to ... Continue reading