Lenin once dismissed the question of how socialism would work by pointing to the workings of the post office. Socialism, he said, means only to “To organize the whole economy on the lines of the postal service.” Well, I tried my best to avoid this pocket of socialism, this museum piece that mysteriously remains part of the modern world, but it was just unavoidable. I lived to tell my story. [Full Article]
Source link: http://archive.mises.org/2869/post-office-hell/
Post Office Hell
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While the intrinsic and gross inefficiencies of the post office are readily apparent from Mr. Bresiger’s article, the quotation from Lenin is even more depressing and alarming since it illustrates Lenin’s economic ignorance. As Mises demonstrated, if the entire world economy were organized “on the lines of the postal service “, i.e., if all of the factors of production were state owned, economic calculation and, hence, the rational utilization of resources would be impossible throughout the world. There would be no market economies from which the socialist states could obtain (copy) factor prices. Perhaps the saddest thing is that many, if not most, economists, not to mention the general populace, still do not understand Mises’s calculation argument and its implications. Gross inefficiency is bad enough, but the absence of economic calculation would mean that “society”, at least those of us who would still be alive, would revert back to the primitive hand-to-mouth level of existence of the cave man.
I went to the Post Office in Austin to mail off several packages. I was initially expecting the worst since there were several people in front of me with many packages. But the staff got through them with great rapidity. Then I went shopping at Walmart and stood in line for ages to get checked out. Plus the cashier failed to hand over one of my bags so I had to go back to get it later.
Oh yes, the efficiency of capitalism! Give me a break!
Pemberton, will you be going back to Walmart? Do you realize that you don’t have to return, ever, unless you want to?
When the USPS runs in the red, however, be ready to answer the knock on the door with some cash if you want to stay out of prison.
Two friends meet shortly before Christmas. One works for UPS, the other for the Post Office.
Post Office guy: “How are things at work?”
UPS guy: “Great! Things couldn’t be better! Business is way up! How about you?”
Post Office guy: “Terrible! Too many people!
PEmberton,
As CH indicated, you do not have to return to Walmart if you do not want to. The post office, on the other hand, is a government created, protected, and subsidized monopoly, at least regarding first class mail. Furthermore, in many areas, the market economy tends to lower prices, especially in those areas that are relatively free from government intervention. Lower prices would even be more pronounced if governments and central banks would end their inflationary policies, including credit expansion. Postal rates, on the other hand, only go up and at a rate considerably faster than the overall rate of inflation. As Mises argued, government bureaucracies tend to be inefficient because there is no connection between inefficient operation and the loss of capital. In fact, because government agencies are not owned by anyone, the concept of capital gain or loss is meaningless.
If the Post Office is hell, then what is the Social Security Office? The IRS?
Has anyone been to the IRS and been greeted with a smile? Ever?
Larry, ha.
I worked one university summer as a Student Customs Officer (Canada). People there were hard workers, not.
I do wonder, however, what life will be like once all the bagel stores and fruit & vegetables get squeezed out of the picture by the Walmarts of the world. Apparently, the “lowest price equates to best deal” mistake that most people make applies to mailing things too. Don’t like Walmart? Go to Target instead. Don’t like the USPS? Go to UPS instead.
“Oh, but UPS charges more.” Did the author of this article calculate the opportunity cost of standing in line at the USPS? If people are not willing to take the Human Action of digging a little deeper into pocketbooks for companies that provide superior service, why should Post Office workers or anyone else listen to their whining?
Vote with the feet and snuff the Postal Service from existence.
One of the things that just kills me when I visit the US as a tourist, is the difficulty of buying a stamp so I can send a postcard. The hotel desks never sell stamps, but they point you toward a little vending machine over in the corner, which (a) charges a premium over the face value of the stamps (b) doesn’t give any change (c) doesn’t dispense the denominations of stamps which you actually need to send a postcard.
And yet, over on the other side of the lobby are machines which dispense all kinds of hot and cold beverages and food, sometimes even french fries, you can see what you get in the little window, the price is exactly as shown, they take coins or bills, and they give change.
But don’t forget – capitalists are evil!
Yeahh Your artical was great..
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