Pests vs. humans

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."

It is not surprising to see how such words can capture the heart of any compassionate human, Christian or not. But when one applies his mind, things start to look a bit more sinister. The major problem lies in the first part of Wendell Berry's statement. Let me explain---and I'll tackle the application of "the laws of justice and mercy" to a capitalist economy separately.

Comparing the world of rats and roaches to the free market of men demonstrates one thing: Berry has no idea about the meaning of the economic concepts of supply and demand. Many smart people, including John Maynard Keynes, misunderstand Jean-Baptiste Say's fundamental macro law of markets. Ignorance is not bliss in this case; it may cost you dearly---you may easily fall prey to all kinds of fallacies. Berry makes a dangerous concession to an old socialist lie. He accepts the proposition that competition is not a part of a system of natural harmony as explained by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, but that it forms the basis for exploitation and class antagonism.

The primary source of Berry's tragic mistake, as was in the cases of David Ricardo and Karl Marx, comes from artificially separating distribution from production. Demand is not the same as need or desire. Its source is not government spending. Demand is born in a process of supplying goods and services. Supply comes from production. Unlike people who live productive lives, rats and roaches do not create new wealth, meaning that in the world of pests there is no supply. And if there is no supply, there is no demand.

In the market, men take desirable things for themselves and their families after they have contributed to the satisfaction of their neighbors' needs. Pests follow their instincts to take from the food provided by God or men. Rats and roaches don't give anything in return. Instead of thanksgiving or money, they leave behind only feces and disease. Pests are like thieves who take and spend other people's money. Oops---any resemblance to recent political activities is coincidental.

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