histofthought1

The first philosopher-economists: the Greeks 27market activities. He therefore saw that specialization and the division oflabour on the market produced goods and services in an orderly fashion:Each man has only to be left to utilize his own abilities and exert his strength toobtain what he wishes...When each person works away at his own occupation anddelights in his own business, then like water flowing downward, goods willnaturally flow ceaselessly day and night without being summoned, and the peoplewill produce commodities without having been asked.To Ch'ien, this was the natural outcome of the free market. 'Does this notally with reason? Is it not a natural result?' Furthermore, prices are regulatedon the market, since excessively cheap or dear prices tend to correct themselvesand reach a proper level.But if the free market is self-regulating, asked Ch'ien perceptively, 'whatneed is there for government directives, mobilizations of labor, or periodicassemblies?' What need indeed?Ssu-ma Ch'ien also set forth the function of entrepreneurship on the market.The entrepreneur accumulates wealth and functions by anticipating conditions(i.e. forecasting) and acting accordingly. In short, he keeps 'a sharpeye out for the opportunities of the times.'Finally, Ch'ien was one of the world's first monetary theorists. He pointedout that increased quantity and a debased quality of coinage by governmentdepreciates the value of money and makes prices rise. And he saw too thatgovernment inherently tended to engage in this sort of inflation and debasement.1.11 NoteI. H.H. Joachim, Aristotle: The Nichomachean Ethics (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1951),p. 50. Also see Moses I. Finley, 'Aristotle and Economic Analysis', in Studies in AncientSociety (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974), pp. 32-40.