"time runs back": literary analysis

7/24/2019 "Time Runs Back": Literary Analysis

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Blake Dean

Culp

Economics

22 November 2015

Hazlitt Assignment

As shon through Hazlitt!s novel" Time Will Run Back" it can be #uite

$i%cult to get managers to take more initiative over their &ob' (ne reason

that Hazlitt raises is that b) using his on initiative" the manager is not

*olloing the or$ers that have been given to him' +or e,ample" in -onorl$

ever) .ve )ears a ne /+ive ears lan is create$" the lea$ers o* -onorl$

speci.call) la) out the pro$uction o* each commo$it) an$ service ill be

create$' -ith this plan each manager is tol$ e,actl) ho much o* a speci.c

pro$uct his plant ill be pro$ucing' 3n the or$s o* A$ams" /4i* ever) plant

manager $eci$e$ *or himsel* hat things his plant shoul$ pro$uce or ho

much it shoul$ pro$uce o* them" our pro$uction oul$ turn out to be

completel) unbalance$ an$ chaotic Hazlitt 1206' Another issue hin$ering

the enlargement o* initiative is the $epen$ence on others to help an i$ea

become success*ul' A$ams proposes this h)pothetical situation7 suppose a

plant manager invents a ne machine that ill increase pro$uction

possibilit) an$ help to better the .rm' 8his machine ill nee$ to be built an$

in -onorl$ that means it must be approve$ b) the Central lanning Boar$

so the) can either give the materials nee$e$ or get someone to buil$ it'


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Either a) that scenario goes there is a sense that the manager has

$isrupte$ the /preor$aine$ plan9 venturing outsi$e o* hat is normal can

also lea$ to chaos' Another reason given is the possibilit) o* *ailure' 3n this

h)pothetical scenario" the Central lanning Boar$ oul$ not take such a risk

on a possible *ailure o* a pro&ect' 3* his machine $oes *ail it oul$ be a aste

o* scarce materials an$ labor' 8his terror o* *ear inhibits an) ambition or

initiative that a manager oul$ like to tr)" because *ailing results in their

removal' 8he main problem that inhibits initiative *rom managers is the *ear

o* $isrupting the norms o* their societ)" an) ne i$ea oul$ re#uire $i:erent

e#uipment" labor an$ pro$uction t)pes hich oul$ be unprece$ente$ an$

might *ail'

eter!s character in the book reveals man) ver) negative realities o*

socialism' 3n socialism the i$ea is hel$ that /pursuing the el*are o* societ)

is here a man can promote his on el*are' -hile capitalism claims that

b) pursuing )our on el*are )ou ill enrich societ)' -hich raises the

#uestion7 hich s)stem orks better;


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the proletariat4a *e people make the economic plan" an$ the rest o* the

people are or$ere$ to carr) out the plan' =ocialism centralizes poer in the

han$s o* a *e that $o not represent the nee$s an$ $esires o* the hole'


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8here is no ob&ective gui$ance in shoing hich goo$s are in higher $eman$

than other goo$s' An) $ecision about the pro$uction o* one goo$ that ill

a:ect another goo$ is ma$e in the $ark because there is no a) to compare

the impact in -onorl$ socialism'

3n contrast" in a market econom) solving this issue is #uite simple'

Due to the *ree$om consumers have to choose hich pro$ucts the) ant or

nee$9 one can simpl) look at the $eman$ o* the to items in #uestion an$

that ill tell )ou hich one is more valuable than the other an$ can anser

the #uestion hether loering the pro$uction o* one ill positivel) or

negativel) a:ect societ)' 3n *act" this happens naturall) in a market

econom)9 through suppl) sol$ suppliers can see hat consumers pre*er an$

hat the) $on!t' 8hese market signals *orce the econom) suppl) to e#ual so

it can reach e#uilibrium" so that the consumer can receive the pro$uct he

values more highl) an$ supplier can receive a pro.t o: o* his pro$uct' 3n

socialism the price is set b) the state an$ this $oes not let market signals to

be seen' rices are an in$icator o* consumer pre*erences9 a high price

in$icates a larger pre*erence because consumers are illing to pa) more *or

the pro&ect' (n the other han$" a lo price in$icates loer pre*erences

because suppliers ill set prices at the highest point here the) ill still

make pro.t' A higher price also in$icates a relative scarcit) o* that pro$uct"

hile a loer price in$icates an abun$ance o* that pro$uct' 3nstea$ o* a

state impose$ price" .ghting a high price ith a high price is the most


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e:ective strateg) to bring the prices back $on' -hen a price is too high"

the price ill outeigh the value that the consumer has *or an in$ivi$ual

causing the suppliers not to make enough pro.t" *orcing them to bring the

price $on to one consumers are illing to pa)' =imilarl)" a loer price ill

eventuall) rise because suppliers cannot a:or$ to keep pro$ucing at too lo

o* a price" so the price rises naturall) toar$s market e#uilibrium'

3n Chapter >2" eter intro$uces the economic concept o* /private

onership o* the means o* pro$uction in Freeworld' rivate onership o*

the means o* pro$uction is a ke) *actor o* capitalism' 3t means that the a)

in hich a pro$uct is pro$uce$ an$ the gains or losses is all one$ b) a

private citizen" not the state' 8his helps the supplier bene.t b) receiving

pro.t *or the pro$uct he sells' 3t not onl) bene.ts suppliers" but hen the

means o* pro$uction is privatel) one$" it means that more pro$uction ill

take place for the marketas long as a pro.t is still being ma$e' 8his is

important because it is a $e.ning aspect o* capitalism' rivate (nership o*

the means o* pro$uction *ocuses on the in$ivi$ual!s abilit) to bu) an$ sell

hat the) please ithout the government setting a limit or price to inhibit

them *rom reaching the market!s *ull potential' 3n our market econom) e

live ithin this principle" all surplus pro$uct is unearne$ income an$ all sol$

pro$uct is earne$ income *or the supplier' -here as in a communist societ)"

the government oul$ control the means o* pro$uction" causing the market

not to meet its potential'


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A$ams attempts to in?ict a price ceiling on bee* an$ sees this as

helping the poor ho cannot a:or$ the bee* at higher prices" hoever eter

sees the realit) o* the price ceiling' eter .rst points out that the suppl) an$

pro$uction o* bee* $i$n!t *all until A$ams institute$ his price ceiling" an$ once

it as institute$ there as a noticeable *all' eter sa)s" /3t ent up because

)ou cheapene$ the value o* the monetar) unit b) printing more mone)'

Essentiall) hat A$ams $i$ as compromise the suppl) o* mone)" not ith

real value but b) pumping more an$ more mone) in the econom)' 8his is

calle$ monetar) in?ation' eter sa)s that because o* this monetar) in?ation"

although the poor man ma) have more gol$grams than he once $i$" the

value o* them has *allen hile the prices have risen' 3n realit)" the poor man

ill not have to give up an)more o* the percentage o* his income than he

oul$ have be*ore in?ation' Hoever" because o* the price ceiling it ill be

more $i%cult *or the poor man to .n$ bee* because the supplier ill be

illing to sell less' A$ams attempts to make the argument that bee* is so

important to the people that the price shoul$ not be able to rise too high'

8his argument *alls ?at because there ill ala)s be someone ho cannot

a:or$ this bee*' No matter ho lo the price" someone ill be impoverishe$

enough to not be able to a:or$ it' Also" b) limiting ho high a price can get

)ou are limiting the amount o* bee* that ill be sol$ in the market'

ro$ucers cannot a:or$ at certain prices to pro$uce as much as the)

previousl) ha$ been able to" making it more $i%cult *or ever)one" not &ust


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the poor" to bu) bee*' Consi$ering A$ams believe$ bee* as an essential

commo$it)" this removal oul$ be e,tremel) harm*ul e:ect'

A$ams is rong both to prohibit the replacement o* ol$ machines to

ne machines an$ to re#uire it because each compan)!s opportunit) cost o*

getting a ne machine is $i:erent an$ to $eman$ that all companies $o the

same thing is to ignore the $i:ering opportunit) costs' +or one compan) the

ol$ machine ma) still be in ver) positive shape an$ the marginal amount

the) oul$ pro$uce is not orth the e,penses o* receiving the ne machine'

Another compan) ma) not sell enough o* their pro$uct" so the) $o not ant

to spen$ the mone) to get a machine that ill make more than hat the)

can a:or$ to make' Another possible situation is that a compan) ma) .n$

that the marginal bene.t outeighs the marginal cost o* the ne machine

an$ the) oul$ e,perience better business an$ the ne machine oul$ help

so the) have it put in' -e must not ignore the *act that companies are not

i$entical an$ their opportunit) costs an$ bu$gets all are much $i:erent' An

engineer cannot make the $ecision hether to sitch to the ne machine

solel) on the pro$uction rate' He must look at ho much o* a pro$uct the

compan) actuall) nee$s to pro$uce" ho much it oul$ cost them to get

this ne machine an$ i* the marginal bene.t outeighs the marginal cost o*

this replacement' Ever) compan) is $i:erent an$ nee$s $i:erent things to

make their suppl) e#ual to $eman$" an$ *or some the machine might be the

anser" but *or others it might $o more harm than goo$'


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"time runs back": literary analysis

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