The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
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The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
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Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#2Abstract:
> This paper extends interplanetary trade to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: How should interest on goods in tranist be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer travelling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theory, and two useless but true theorems are proved.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#3Abstract: > This paper extends interplanetary trade to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: How should interest on goods in tranist be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer travelling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theo…
Without having read anything but your comment:
The economic impact to the attendant ('observer travelling with the goods') is not diminished by his own experience of the passage of time, but is affected by the reduction in his own ability to take on other tasks during the same [external] time frame.
In other words, it doesn't matter that he experienced the travel as five minutes. What matters is that his options were limited for five days.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#4Abstract: > This paper extends interplanetary trade to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: How should interest on goods in tranist be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer travelling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theo…
Without having read anything but your comment: The economic impact to the attendant ('observer travelling with the goods') is not diminished by his own experience of the passage of time, but is affected by the reduction in his own ability to take on other tasks during the same [external] time frame. In other words, it doesn't matter that he experienced the travel as five minutes. What matters is that his options were…
Without having read anything but your comment:
What about the actual vs. perceived wear and tear on the ships(?) transporting the goods, do they experience 5 days worth of repair/upkeep (fuel?) needs, or 5 minutes? Maintaining the transport (vehicle, ransible, teleporter, whatever) has some sort of cost - TANSTAAFL.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#5The article was written in 1978 but it references paper:
Krugman, P.,"Theory Capital and Travel Light-than-Faster", prosessed, Yale University, 1987
(The writer also received a Nobel for his contributions to the theory of international trade and economic geography).
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#6Abstract: > This paper extends interplanetary trade to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: How should interest on goods in tranist be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer travelling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theo…
Without having read anything but your comment: The economic impact to the attendant ('observer travelling with the goods') is not diminished by his own experience of the passage of time, but is affected by the reduction in his own ability to take on other tasks during the same [external] time frame. In other words, it doesn't matter that he experienced the travel as five minutes. What matters is that his options were…
I think it is more complicated as they will presumably also age slower, thus trade the time lost right now to gain more later. It is all too fantastical for me to speculate on the market value of that transaction.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#7Abstract: > This paper extends interplanetary trade to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: How should interest on goods in tranist be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer travelling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theo…
Without having read anything but your comment: The economic impact to the attendant ('observer travelling with the goods') is not diminished by his own experience of the passage of time, but is affected by the reduction in his own ability to take on other tasks during the same [external] time frame. In other words, it doesn't matter that he experienced the travel as five minutes. What matters is that his options were…
But his needs (food, shelter,...) only had to be met for 5 minutes, while he could have invested money and earned interest for 5 days. This is a minor plot point in Orson Scott Card's Ender series, and in Futurama.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#8The article was written in 1978 but it references paper: Krugman, P.,"Theory Capital and Travel Light-than-Faster", prosessed, Yale University, 1987 (The writer also received a Nobel for his contributions to the theory of international trade and economic geography).
Paul Krugman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without having read anything but your comment: The economic impact to the attendant ('observer travelling with the goods') is not diminished by his own experience of the passage of time, but is affected by the reduction in his own ability to take on other tasks during the same [external] time frame. In other words, it doesn't matter that he experienced the travel as five minutes. What matters is that his options were…
Without having read anything but your comment: What about the actual vs. perceived wear and tear on the ships(?) transporting the goods, do they experience 5 days worth of repair/upkeep (fuel?) needs, or 5 minutes? Maintaining the transport (vehicle, ransible, teleporter, whatever) has some sort of cost - TANSTAAFL.
The passage of time is the same for the transport and its crew, i.e. 5 minutes.
It's only the stationary observer (not travelling with the ship) who experiences 5 days.
Re: The Theory of Interstellar Trade (1978)
#10Cool paper. I dig the premise. But this passage from the introduction left an eyebrow raised:
> [Recent progress raises] the distinct possibility that we may eventually discover or construct a world to which orthodox economic theory applies.
This really strains credulity for me. Whatever you think of various heterodox economic theories, their objections tend to come boil to some combination of: class analysis; "human nature"; the second law of thermodynamics; conservation of energy; justice; the environment and ecology. To my knowledge, no one in the scientific community is suggesting that other solar systems will contain environments that take those factors off the table (and nor were they in 1978). Resources are finite and people are people wherever you go (unless our species itself is transformed - but interstellar travel is neither necessary nor sufficient for that to happen). What's the deal? Am I missing something? Am I reading too much into the fanciful introduction to an interesting paper?