Earlier I was asked for examples of more complex large scale cons. Big tobacco is a perfect example. They knowingly sold their customer a product that had terrible terrible side effects. What makes this complex, is that this product also has value. Because this product has value, when it comes time for retribution, the courts can only fine them, whereas a con man would be forced to give it all back. How much are they fined? A drop in the bucket. Yet big tobacco would never had been so successful without employing these nefarious practices.
That is the disconnect. A business is trying to increase profit margins, not increase delivered value. Another good example would be BP. They are likely no different from the rest of the oil industry. They can lower safety and environmental standards and estimate on average how long it will take for an epic disaster to happen, estimate the potential increase in revenue from lowering the standards over this time period, then they can estimate the potential fine. This scenario may not have been what happened, but it illustrates how simple risk assessment can lead a business to abandon its interest in creating more value.
You may argue that people can chose to go with an oil company who does things on the up and up and pay fifty cents more at the pump. But this is pure naivety through and through. Humans have a very difficult time comprehending the bigger picture. It is just too easy to disconnect your actions from large scale effects. This is why despite knowing about the child soldiers that are an effect of the diamond trade or the sweat shops that put cotton on our backs, we keep buying.
Through regulations we can remove products and practices that we do not believe in from the market place. As a consumer I can then consume and not worry, because I know regulations are in place that are more or less in line with my morals. Seriously, doing research on big purchases is good.. staying fairly informed is good.. but staying up to date on everything we consume so that we can make the correct choices that line up with our values is beyond a full time job. And you want us to pay for this full time job? That is why we have regulatory bodies which have power beyond giving 3rd party reviews. They are specialist who ideally (clearly our current system is far from perfect) follow the values of the people and take things off the market which do not jive with those ideals.
It is not a system in which people are being forced to do this or that, it is the same system you are suggesting, only it is more efficient. Peoples values are represented in the market place through specialized regulatory officials. In your system, I'd have to pay for, then sift through 3rd party reviews of chewing gum. In the gas station and want to try a new flavor of gum? Better hold off until you've done your due diligence! Thats utterly ridiculous.
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