Lindblom - The Market System - Afghan Journalists' Committee

150 What To Make of Itsomehow of a lesser quality, they say, not to be comparedwith the values of services and goods. A loss of open spacebecause of commercialization of an area or a burden of sootin the air is not important when compared with the valuesof marketable goods and services. But why do I value andbuy, say, a commuter ticket? Because I want to commutefrom a suburban location where I can enjoy more open spacethan in the heart of the city. And why do I spend as I do onlaundry? Because soot in the air dirties my clothes. Whatcongestion and soot deprive me of, I pay to recover. Spilloverburdens are costly and significant in exactly the same waythat transport and laundry are costly and significant.A few economists deny that those spillovers they callexternalities constitute an inefficiency of the market system.Instead, they say, they are evidence that the markethas not been sufficiently enlarged. If rights to open andclean air, sunlight, and beautiful vistas could be divided upand turned into private property, they would be priced becausethey would then be scarce and controllable. An enterpriseor person would then have to pay me for interferingwith my view or polluting my air. If so, every enterprise andperson would have to take account of those values now neglectedin market decisions.For many of the values neglected in existing market systems,the “if” is enormous. For property rights cannot generallybe established in values like air, sunshine, and security.I agree, however, that they can be established in someimportant areas in which they are now uncommon. For example,assigning forest property rights to farmers in Thailandhas reduced deforestation. Granting property titles toBandung slum dwellers has greatly improved sanitation—owners can refuse or charge for the use of their domains as adump. New Zealand has curbed overfishing by assigning