IT'S CALLED SUPPLY AND DEMAND | 2003-08-23
One reason conservatives are so bubble-headed is because they preach "supply and demand" but they never pay any attention to demand.
Conservatives talk about how a good economy requires grim self-discipline or hard work on the part of producers, but no conservative ever mentions what kind of buyer that makes a good economy. They say German goods are good because of the German work ethic, but is that really why German goods have to be good?
German products have to be clean because Germans won't accept anything dirty. If you produce something crappy and sell it to a South American or a Frenchman, he will give one of those famous Latin shrugs and not worry about it. If a German's watch quits, he goes ape.
Everybody likes to say how sophisticated those wonderful Latins are when they just shrug when something is dirty or breaks down. But the fact is we would rather buy something a German would buy. But if you listen to a conservative talking about economics, you would never think about that.
German goods are worth having because Germans won't accept less. Germans produce good stuff because of German demand. But if you listen to a conservative talk about supply and demand, you would never know that.