Anti-WalMart Campaign?

[Propertarian]

[ QUOTE ]
In this thread posters where both implying and assuming that inserting a totaly abritary subjective prefrence into the mechanism of consumtion thereby mitigated that consumption of any waste. I wanted to look at that more closely as I think it is an intresting thing to talk

[/ QUOTE ] In any situation, market or state, where people do not have perfect information or perfect rationality, there is waste.

Let's say I think I will like a book, and think it will be informative and entertaining, perhaps because of advertisements. By their argument, I increased my utility/well-being when I bought the book ("why would I have voluntarily traded for it if it didn't?" is what they might say). But, after a couple of hundred pages, I am disappointed...it turns out to be dull and boring. I have wasted my time and money, and did not benefit but in fact was harmed by the transaction.

How about an insane person or an addicted person? Are his "voluntary transactions" benefiting him?

In reality, people do not benefit automatically from all voluntary transactions.

In other words, there is always waste.

Just an FYI: most of the ACists here rely on Austrian economics, which is all too often little more than an attempt to define away different viewpoints, which is why real economists don't use it as their method.