> In actual shortages where there's a strong political motivation to efficiently distribute goods (e.g. wartime), we switch to central planning (i.e. rations)
That is glossing over the fact that wartime is miserable for the average consumer. Extreme central planning leads to horrible outcomes.
Central planning in wartime has two motivations:
1. It allows tactical objectives to be met very quickly, at unreasonable cost.
2. Free markets are at heart anti-war, because war destroys capital and suppresses trade/investment, both bad outcomes for traders. So there needs to be a mechanism to suppress the markets and force it to make economically bad decisions.
Wartime central planning has nothing to do with getting poor people what they need. It is more likely poor people will be purposefully starved drafting able bodied farmers into soldiers then making sure they have lots of food.
That is glossing over the fact that wartime is miserable for the average consumer. Extreme central planning leads to horrible outcomes.
Central planning in wartime has two motivations: 1. It allows tactical objectives to be met very quickly, at unreasonable cost. 2. Free markets are at heart anti-war, because war destroys capital and suppresses trade/investment, both bad outcomes for traders. So there needs to be a mechanism to suppress the markets and force it to make economically bad decisions.
Wartime central planning has nothing to do with getting poor people what they need. It is more likely poor people will be purposefully starved drafting able bodied farmers into soldiers then making sure they have lots of food.