[mountainb]

Many actions have a negative value. If I give two toddlers ball-peen hammers, release them into a window store, and then close the front door while I wait in the parking lot, was my action likely to create value or likely to destroy value?

[edm0nd]

is it not both?

create value because the windows have to be replaced and employees are paid for their labor in doing that.

destroy value bc they -1 inventory each time a window is broken

[lbreakjai]

It's a net value loss. This is literally the parable of the broken window

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

The fallacy is to think value was created by buying someone's labour to fix the window. This is value that's been displaced from something productive to something unproductive.

Instead of going from 0 to 1 (invest the money and create value), you went from -1 to 0 (spend money to fix the window to get back to where you were) and, overall, the value of a perfectly good window got lost.

[i_think_so]

I've never understood why this isn't obvious to anyone with a room temperature IQ and 30 spare seconds to think about it.

In other words, everybody but economists and certain philosophers. :-)

[jagged-chisel]

For whom? The employees will get more paid hours as they clean up. You have created value for them!

[evan_]

ok Zorg https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119116/quotes/?item=qt0544361&...

[jagged-chisel]

“…by creating a little destruction, I am in fact creating [value.]”

Indeed, the capitalist’s creed!