> The greatest profits are usually found where scarcity meets desperation.
Chinese history records that the premodern government was often suspicious of market trade for a pretty interesting reason -- when a region experienced famine, the market directed food away from the afflicted region. [1]
The problem, of course, was that in the premodern context, what most people produced was... food. A famine meant that everyone needed food, but it simultaneously meant that everyone had just been impoverished, such that there wasn't much profit available to be had in selling them the food they needed.
[1] It goes without saying that they were also suspicious of market trade for the standard other reasons.
Chinese history records that the premodern government was often suspicious of market trade for a pretty interesting reason -- when a region experienced famine, the market directed food away from the afflicted region. [1]
The problem, of course, was that in the premodern context, what most people produced was... food. A famine meant that everyone needed food, but it simultaneously meant that everyone had just been impoverished, such that there wasn't much profit available to be had in selling them the food they needed.
[1] It goes without saying that they were also suspicious of market trade for the standard other reasons.