Oneness: An Economics Perspective 
(From a Multi-Essay Series)

"Capitalism" is an economic system wherein the "means of production" are privately owned. The counterpart to capitalism, variously known as "communism" or "socialism," is an economic system where the means of production are publicly owned. This latter economic order was once trumpeted as being more egalitarian and, thus, the inevitable course of "industrial" democracies.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum …

The industrial revolution has begun to give way to a post-industrial society. Factory workers are being transformed into "information specialists" and those who remain in the industrial sector are becoming skilled technicians. The proletariat that Marx was relying upon to carry out his revolution are now better educated than he was and are embracing the materialism of the bourgeois class(es) he so despised.

So, capitalism is the answer to all humanity’s problems, right? Well, hardly. It’s just that it happens to be the reality for the time being and for the foreseeable future. So long as the benefits of a market economy exceed the pitfalls, capitalism is here to stay. But pitfalls there are and they need to be routinely addressed.

One of the major pitfalls of capitalism is the all-too-frequent market domination by one party or a select group of parties. Another and often related pitfall is inadequate or incorrect information.

For a fully-functioning market economy, there must be (a) many buyers and many sellers (with no single buyer or seller being able to significantly influence price), (b) ease of entry into and exit from the marketplace, (c) a homogeneous mechanism for evaluating products and services, and (d) a perfect flow of information. Whenever any of these conditions is not present, then Oneness economic institutions must be prepared to act.

Many buyers and sellers.

If we want to avoid being subjected to the whims (pricing and otherwise) of unresponsive monopolies, then we consumers must be willing to support smaller, independent businesses which are responsive to our demands. An example of sustaining consumer choice is patronizing establishments owned and operated by a resident entrepreneur. Failing to do this can result in a monolithic environment devoid of customer service.

Similarly, when we are sellers, we should look to diversify our customer base so as not to subject ourselves and our employees to the extreme volatility of having to rely upon the purchasing habits of one (or just a few) customer(s).

Ease of entry and/or exit.

Many potential buyers and/or sellers are discouraged from participating in the marketplace when there are barriers to their entering the market or leaving the market. While this topic may be too abstract for some, one recent innovation helps to illustrate it. The Internet is now helping to bring market participants together through electronic auctions. This is one means of ensuring that assets (of various sorts) become fungible and, thus, encouraging more market participants.

Homogeneous mechanism for evaluating products and services.

In order to fairly compare products and services and, hence, to gauge relative value(s), we must have a homogenous pricing mechanism. One version of this mechanism in the marketplace is the unit pricing of food items at the grocery store (e.g., where one compares the relative price of a can of food based on a fixed unit of measure). Another is evaluating the measured watts of output of a stereo unit against a fixed level of total harmonic distortion (THD). When industry fails to provide this comparison information, Oneness institutions — government or otherwise — should intervene.

Perfect flow of information.

In conjunction with our previous topics, there must be a perfect flow of information so that buyers and sellers can make intelligent and informed decisions. Once again, the Internet is a vehicle for satisfying this requirement. One example would be searching for information regarding infant car seats. In addition to the usual pricing information, one can use the Internet to find the most up-to-date information regarding recent safety tests and/or product recalls. Without such information, one might purchase an inferior and potentially unsafe product.

Conclusion.

With the growing acceptance of the market mechanism as the preferred allocator of resources, Oneness institutions are now called upon to ensure the efficiency of the market. As discussed in another article, where the market fails to satisfy the basic "needs" of our citizens, a social safety-net is in order.