Speculator

A speculator is a person who attempts to buy high and sell low.^{[citation needed]}

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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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