Re: Is information the fourth factor of production? Was - Re: what's wrong with eastern germans?
royls_at_telus.net
Date: 08/15/04
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Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 23:19:33 GMT
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 14:48:06 +0000 (UTC), "Darren Rhodes"
<darren.rhodes5@btopenworld.com> wrote:
><royls@telus.net> wrote in message news:411dbde3.7409505@news.telus.net...
>> On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 15:44:40 +0000 (UTC), "Darren Rhodes"
>> <darren.rhodes5@btopenworld.com> wrote:
>>
>> ><royls@telus.net> wrote in message
>news:411bb954.2106712@news.telus.net...
>> >> On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 15:05:55 +0000 (UTC), "Darren Rhodes"
>> >> <darren.rhodes5@btopenworld.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >"sinister" <sinister@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
>> >> >news:nVISc.9543$EQ5.441@nwrddc03.gnilink.net...
>> >> >>
>> >> >> To add to Roy's comments about land rent:
>> >> >> Classical economists defined 3 factors of production: land (==>
>rent),
>> >> >> labor (==> wages), capital (==> interest).
>> >> >
>> >> >Do you regard information as a factor of production? Darren.
>> >>
>> >> Information is considered to contribute to production as part of labor
>> >> and/or capital. It is also not scarce as the other production factors
>> >> are: if it exists, it can be reproduced at arbitrarily low cost.
>> >
>> >If two entities attempt to produce something and one of the entities has
>> >information as to the method of production while the other entity does
>not
>> >have this information there will be a huge cost disparity of the
>otherwise
>> >equivalent products.
>>
>> Right. The skill of the worker that possesses the information makes
>> the difference. But skills are all considered part of "labor."
>>
>> >As the products become more sophisticated the cost
>> >discrepancy can be such that without the necessary information it is not
>> >possible to make the product (in this case information _is_ a factor of
>> >production).
>>
>> It is just part of labor and/or capital.
>
>Isn't 'skill': that is, the ability to turn information into knowledge and
>hence use it for commercial gain an intrinsic part of labour? Whereas,
>information is extrinsic to labour: without the information there is nothing
>for the labour to apply its' skills upon?
By that "logic," air, Vitamin C, and about a zillion other things
would count as separate factors of production.
>On this basis isn't information
>separate from labour; whereas if skill is defined as the ability to convert
>information to knowledge then this _is_ part of labour.
That's not how skill is defined.
>> >As for the scarcity of information - doesn't copyright make
>> >information _artificially_ scarce since it cannot _legally_ be reproduced
>at
>> >arbitrarily low cost?
>>
>> Yes. But that means the information is not actually a production
>> factor. Rather, the intellectual property privilege is a barrier to
>> entry. Consider the prallel cases of agricultural quotas, taxi
>> medallions, etc. A taxi medallion is not a factor of production just
>> because there is a law that says you have to have one in order to push
>> a hack.
>
>By that argument charging rent on land means that land is no longer a
>production factor.
??? No. You seem not to have understood my argument at all, nor,
indeed, any of the relevant arguments. A taxicab is a production
factor (capital), but not the taxi medallion. Similarly, land is a
production factor, but not the land title, nor the landowner, nor the
land rent.
>Similarly, charging tax upon employing labour; by the
>argument above, suddenly means that labour is no longer a factor of
>production.
?? No, by the argument above, it is the _tax_ that is not a
production factor.
>Thanks for your reply, Roy; but still, it appears that under the
>circumstances initially outlined; information is the fourth factor of
>production.
No, it isn't. It is obtained in the form of labor or capital.
-- Roy L
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