Speculator: Difference between revisions

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A speculator is a person who attempts to buy high and sell low. In doing so, he helps smooth out extreme variations in prices. Praxeologically, all actors are speculators because the future is always uncertain.^[1] There is always the potential for a black swan event to cause even "safe" investments to go bad.^[2] Among the factors that can change are future needs and valuations, the reaction of men to changes in conditions, future scientific and technological knowledge, and future ideologies and policies.^[3] Ludwig von Mises notes, "The great majority of people, not knowing how to speculate successfully, and socialist writers of all shades of opinion, speak very ill of speculation."^[4]

References

↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "Conception and Understanding". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap2sec8.asp. "The distinctive reasoning of the speculator is an understanding of the relevance of the various factors determining future events. And — let us emphasize it even at this early point of our investigations — action necessarily always aims at future and therefore uncertain conditions and thus is always speculation."
↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "The Mobility of the Investor". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap18sec8.asp. "In a changing economy action always involves speculation. Investments may be good or bad, but they are always speculative. A radical change in conditions may render bad even investments commonly considered perfectly safe."
↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "Uncertainty and Acting". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap6sec1.asp.
↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "Speculation". Socialism. http://mises.org/books/socialism/part2_ch10.aspx#_sec6.

Links

"The Social Function of Stock Speculators" by Robert P. Murphy, November 2006

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[1] Mises, Ludwig von. "Conception and Understanding". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap2sec8.asp. "The distinctive reasoning of the speculator is an understanding of the relevance of the various factors determining future events. And — let us emphasize it even at this early point of our investigations — action necessarily always aims at future and therefore uncertain conditions and thus is always speculation."

[2] Mises, Ludwig von. "The Mobility of the Investor". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap18sec8.asp. "In a changing economy action always involves speculation. Investments may be good or bad, but they are always speculative. A radical change in conditions may render bad even investments commonly considered perfectly safe."

[3] Mises, Ludwig von. "Uncertainty and Acting". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap6sec1.asp.

[4] Mises, Ludwig von. "Speculation". Socialism. http://mises.org/books/socialism/part2_ch10.aspx#_sec6.

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 * {{md|2381|The Social Function of Stock Speculators|[[Robert P. Murphy]]|November 2006}}
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