[p2p-research] User Freedom and the Purpose of Profit

[Patrick Anderson]

Ryan Lanham wrote:
> I am not against profits.  But I am against profits for the sake of
> profits.  We simply don't understand the world yet where they don't exist in
> a dominant way.   It is coming fairly quickly, however.

I hope this is true, but if so, then why would anyone invest?

My answer to that is: Let's get the end-user (or consumer) to invest
for "at cost" product (think of it as a pre-payment plan) since he
would then receive those outputs without paying profit while also
gaining the control he has for so long been without.

On a related note: What would you say is the 'origin' of profit?  Why
does the consumer consent to paying a price above cost, and what is
the 'correct' treatment of that value in the better system?

My answer is to treat that overpayment as though the consumer were
making a tiny investment - so he slowly gains ownership in the Means
of Production for the purpose of solidifying his ability to receive
product "at cost" while also helping him gain the control he needs to
finally be able to claim "User Freedom" in the physical realm.

Treating profit as a payer's investment allows growth to occur, but
causes the ownership in that growth is 'distributed' to those who are
willing to pay for it.


Thanks,
Patrick Anderson
Social Sufficiency Coalition
http://SourceFreedom.BlogSpot.com
http://patware.FreeShell.org