O'Regan, Emlyn wrote:
> With nanotech, where's the need for a market at all? If it irons out all
the
> bumps due to resource scarcities, so vanquishes scarcity, why do we need
trade?
Scarcity hasn't been the major motivation for trade for at least a couple of centuries. These days the major consideration is comparative advantage - if everyone does what they are best at, we will all end up trading with each other and we will all be better off than if we tried to be 100% self-sufficient.
Nanotech tends to obscure this issue, since it makes physical subsistance possible without any social contact. However, it doesn't really change anything fundamental. Virtually everyone will still end up being at least loosely tied to the general economy, even if it is only so they can buy copies of the latest VR games.
Billy Brown, MCSE+I
ewbrownv@mindspring.com