What We Can Do, What We Can't Do

New years are a good time to reflect on life's possibilities, especially when it comes to societal progress. Nevertheless, how do we distinguish between realistic potential, versus what is essentially wishful thinking? For example, even though the world needs a lot more mutual respect and civility, desired outcomes such as these cannot be coerced. 

And while Adam Smith and many others celebrated the free markets which so contributed to civility in recent centuries, much of this fortuitous societal coordination takes place in tradable sector activity. Still, it's not unreasonable to ask: Could our non tradable sector markets also contribute to greater civility? How might they gain their own newfound freedoms? In particular, is it feasible for the resource of our scarce time, to garner more economic and societal value in the near future? Or will vital markets for time value, remain outside our realm of direct influence?

In the twentieth century, housing and time based services were regulated in ways which reduced the degree of autonomy and control individuals held over their own destinies - particularly those with substantial income limits. If millions were to regain control via new production and consumption potential, how much civility might we all regain in the process? At the very least, we still benefit from the civility which goes hand in hand with high levels of tradable sector resource coordination. And while we will never put a stop to what's bad in the world, we could still create more good, by allowing symmetrical (hence reciprocal) coordination of time via market tested means. Time arbitrage is one entry to this realm of possibility. It is a broad spectrum approach for improving personal autonomy and self worth, with potential to bring new hope to people from all walks of life.

With additional economic value for mutually coordinated time, millions more citizens would derive a greater sense of self worth. Consider one important reason why this matters. So much in the world which is unfortunate and destructive, includes the reality of poorly defined self worth. How can we expect people to be trustworthy or unfailingly good to others, when their time use potential lacks sufficient economic value to build a normal life? Granted, not everyone would personally benefit from stronger markets for time value. Just the same, millions more would finally learn to effectively negotiate with others for their wants and needs. I believe that gaining the chance to do so, would result in fortuitous circumstance whereby people are more inclined to be kind and civil. 

Even though the passing years have given me cause to excessively dwell on what can't be done, I still believe we are not helpless to act in positive ways. Clearly, we have reason to do so, when the evening news also dwells on what we seemingly cannot remedy. While there will always be instances when no one can decipher personal motivations for violence and hatred, there will still be positive ways to respond. Sure, some market efforts are going to fail, sometimes even miserably. But I continue to believe that viable and carefully representative market platforms are the best means we have, to build a better, more inclusive future. Plus, as Ricardo Hausmann recently noted in "The Missing Link in Economic Development":

If someone is not doing something that we as a society value it might be because they can't, not because they don't want to. This weakness in economics has far-reaching implications for our understanding of economic growth and development, which is fundamentally about the social accumulation of productive capabilities.

Markets should not be so willing to devolve, into a twisted rational of what societies supposedly can't do. When they become rigid and inflexible, does anyone really wonder why capitalism gets disparaged? Why not work to ensure greater freedom for our vital domestic markets, so they might better contribute to human civility and hope for the future? Why not 2021 as the perfect place to begin? Lets turn our non tradable sectors into realms where we regain hope for what we can do as a society, instead of remaining hopelessly divided over what we can't do.