Competition
When people talk about why capitalism works and is useful, they always point out that competition drives the prices of things down. But is that necessarily a good thing in every case? Sometimes people lower the cost of goods by being more efficient, taking less of a profit for themselves, innovating new techniques for production, etc. But there are other ways, too. Like cutting corners. In a capitalist market, corners are going to be cut wherever it won’t be noticed by the majority.
Take cars, for example. There are better ways of making headlights and other car parts that don’t get used as much as they probably should, because almost everyone owns a car and not many people know much about it. I don’t think I’m being too much of a snob-I own a Camry for Pete’s sake. But I find it worthwhile to get certain Toyota parts and Toyota accessories online. I don’t want to spend as much as a house is worth on some Italian car that can break the speed of sound. But good, solid cars cut corners because it makes economic sense to aim for the vast market of car buyers who won’t know the difference. Luckily with the Internet it’s possible to find genuine Toyota parts for any make and model at a reasonable price.
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