Well, trade does have a more zero-sum character when both sides of the trade have the same preferences, but if you can credibly claim to have different preferences, you’re also in a better position to convince the person on the other side of the trade that you’re not trying to offer them a bad deal. (For example, if you’re selling stock because you want to spend the money, you don’t care if you disagree with someone about what the stock will be worth in the future; you just want to sell it for the best offer you can get right now.)
You don’t need to have different preferences to make mutually beneficial trades. Human preferences tend to be roughly unbounded but sublinear—more of the same good isn’t as important to us. So if I have a lot of money and you have a lot of ripe oranges, we can both benefit greatly by trading even if we both have the same love of oranges and money.
(yes I know you’ve being ironic)
Well, trade does have a more zero-sum character when both sides of the trade have the same preferences, but if you can credibly claim to have different preferences, you’re also in a better position to convince the person on the other side of the trade that you’re not trying to offer them a bad deal. (For example, if you’re selling stock because you want to spend the money, you don’t care if you disagree with someone about what the stock will be worth in the future; you just want to sell it for the best offer you can get right now.)
You don’t need to have different preferences to make mutually beneficial trades. Human preferences tend to be roughly unbounded but sublinear—more of the same good isn’t as important to us. So if I have a lot of money and you have a lot of ripe oranges, we can both benefit greatly by trading even if we both have the same love of oranges and money.
Yes, I know.