Lindblom - The Market System - Afghan Journalists' Committee

Quid Pro Quo 113some do not? Why not all of you? And whose needs are metand whose are not?” We try again to explain. If you can’t obtainsomething you want by doing it or making it yourself,the only permitted way to get help from others is to offerthe others something they might want—your labor, yourmoney, or other assets—to induce them to help you. Ourvisitor silently thinks about what we have said. “What ifthey do not have anything to offer?” Too bad, we reply; theywould be out of luck—unless some charity saves them.He finds this hard to believe and wonders whether hehas misunderstood. “You must have some kind of arrangementsto make sure that everyone has something to offer—valuable enough so that everyone can get what they need?”We stumble with our answers. We tell him that everyone’sliberty is legally protected, so that means that everyone canat least offer labor for wages. “But,” he asks, “what if someonecan’t earn as much wage as the family needs?” Thatcauses problems, we concede, especially for the unskilled.“Do you then make sure the unskilled are trained?” No,they have no claim on anyone for training—unless, ofcourse, they can offer their labor to get it. The visitor snapsat us: “A circularity, is it not?” He then recovers and apologizes.We explain to him that one can offer more than labor.One can offer objects or assets: land, buildings, equipment,and the like. Our society recognizes the right to hold, exercisecontrol over, and use assets—a set of rights we call privateproperty. “That sounds better,” he says. “And youhave arrangements to distribute assets so that everyone hasenough of them to get what his family needs by renting,lending, or selling them?” No, we confess, we do not. Manypeople have assets only in the form of food and clothing;they own no additional assets to offer to earn money. “How