John Medaille writes,

Think about going to the 
store to buy bread. You would buy, if you are 
able, as much bread as the family needed, and no 
more. The exchange has an in-built limitation. 
But if making money is your only goal, you might 
buy up every loaf of bread in hopes of cornering 
the market and making a large profit. There is no 
natural limit on such exchanges, only contingent 
limits, such as the amount of market power your wealth commands.


I would amend that slightly. The limit is spoilage - that is why God, when
dropping manna from heaven, wisely had it spoil overnight. Even gold may be
stolen ("... where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and
steal".) Land, however, generally does not spoil, but rather appreciates.
Hence the Isaihac problem of those who "lay field to field, 'til there be no
place, that they may be alone in the midst of the Earth".

No, I'm not bible-thumping, but one takes wisdom where one finds it!

Mason Gaffney