# Are all economic ideologies aside from free-market/Randian theory obsolete? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625 "2013-04-24T22:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/161 "2014-08-24T06:07:25Z")
Likely, they will be considered even more as free market capitalism is not sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/162 "2014-08-24T23:01:07Z")
> [@ralfy](#): > > Likely, they will be considered even more as free market capitalism is not sustainable. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/163 "2014-08-25T02:18:59Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why not? Because the world has finite material resources, and these are limited further by environmental damage. Meanwhile, credit created by economies increases considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/164 "2014-08-25T03:26:50Z")
Free market capitalism is defined by scarcity and finite resources. It allocates goods on the willingness of others to bid money for them. It isn’t the only way to allocate scarce resources, but it is most definitely able and highly competent to do so. Do you somehow imagine that a theater owner keeps selling tickets to a show even after all the seats are full? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/165 "2014-08-25T03:42:07Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Free market capitalism is defined by scarcity and finite resources. It allocates goods on the willingness of others to bid money for them. > > It isn’t the only way to allocate scarce resources, but it is most definitely able and highly competent to do so. Do you somehow imagine that a theater owner keeps selling tickets to a show even after all the seats are full? In a \*free market? \*Sure; he’ll make money off of it, and he won’t care that he’s selling seats that don’t exist. In a _regulated_ market on the other hand he’d be worried about getting prosecuted for fraud. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/166 "2014-08-25T05:30:51Z")
Laissez-faire is largely a myth. Economies are generally what they call a “mixed economy”. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/167 "2014-08-25T05:39:27Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Free market capitalism is defined by scarcity and finite resources. It allocates goods on the willingness of others to bid money for them. > > It isn’t the only way to allocate scarce resources, but it is most definitely able and highly competent to do so. Do you somehow imagine that a theater owner keeps selling tickets to a show even after all the seats are full? Airlines do it every day. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/168 "2014-08-25T06:03:19Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > Airlines do it every day. Good point. And passengers would be SOL without regulations. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/169 "2014-08-25T13:18:36Z")
> [@ralfy](#): > > Because the world has finite material resources, and these are limited further by environmental damage. But, that would be a limitation on **any** economic system. > [@ralfy](#): > > Meanwhile, credit created by economies increases considerably. So what? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/170 "2014-08-25T21:12:18Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > Airlines do it every day. ??? What keeps people from stacking up in airports, trying to board planes that are full? How does this work? I’m not to the point of disputing what you say, but how does it work without obvious problems? Anyway, that much aside, **ralfy** ’s absurd claim is demolished six ways from Sunday. It’s bloody Economics 101. Supply/Demand/Price curves. Capitalism came into existence because of limited material resources. If everybody had a backyard garden where they could raise all the food they need, there wouldn’t be any need for anyone to buy food. There’d be no market. ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/171 "2014-08-26T02:09:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But, that would be a limitation on **any** economic system. That’s right. > [@](#): > > So what? Prices go up and the value of money weakens. Also, the global economy becomes more prone to fallout from risky financial speculation, which is what happened in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625/172 "2014-08-26T02:14:49Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > ??? What keeps people from stacking up in airports, trying to board planes that are full? > > How does this work? I’m not to the point of disputing what you say, but how does it work without obvious problems? > > Anyway, that much aside, **ralfy** ’s absurd claim is demolished six ways from Sunday. It’s bloody Economics 101. Supply/Demand/Price curves. Capitalism came into existence because of limited material resources. If everybody had a backyard garden where they could raise all the food they need, there wouldn’t be any need for anyone to buy food. There’d be no market. Actually, capitalism came about because of combinations of factors, among them the presence of abundant material resources, enclosures, and more elaborate credit systems. Also, most people don’t grow their own food because they can earn money through work, and then use that to buy food that is produced through mechanized agriculture. The catch is that the latter, together with manufacturing, is heavily dependent on oil. The same goes for much of industrial capitalism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-economic-ideologies-aside-from-free-market-randian-theory-obsolete/656625.md?page=8)