Let’s Stay Together: On Direct Exchange and the Social Order
[This article is excerpted from chapter 4 of Economics for Real
People. Rich, whom we meet in the introduction, is the book's
equivalent of Robinson Crusoe; Helena Bonham-Carter is his
Friday.] The Law of Association Rich has worked out the details
of his solitary economy and has a somewhat comfortable
existence. Then, one day he is walking along the beach, and who
should he see approaching him but … Helena Bonham-Carter.
(Stranded, perhaps, during the filming of the latest Merchant-
Ivory production.) His solitude broken, what does Rich decide to
do? More generally, what factors would lead man to choose
between an isolated existence and life in society? One
possibility is that Rich might react like a bear does when
another bear enters its territory. He could, through the threat
of or actual use of force, attempt to drive the intruder away.
Now, he might refrain from doing so due to moral constraints or
benevolent feelings. But there is another reaso