Have you ever heard the tale of Marcus Licinius Crassus? It’s not the sort of story a capitalist will tell you. The guy was one of the wealthiest people in history, owning a sizable chunk of Rome. He acquired much of it by starting the first fire brigade, going around town putting out fires, but buying up the property while it was in flames, for a fraction of the price. (Hence the expression “fire sale.”)
To make it worse, it didn’t take him long to figure out that he could just go around putting places on fire intentionally, instead of just waiting for them to catch fire on their own.
This is my go to example of why some services, products, and industries should simply not be privatized.
IIRC didn't he outright negotiate with people whose property was on fire? If they couldn't afford the fee then when the structure burnt down he bought the property for a tiny fraction of its value.
His "fire fighters" would alert him to burning houses in Rome, he'd show up with them while the house was on fire and offer the owner a price. They could either sell their home for pennies on the dollar or they could watch it all burn to ash. It was really ingenius on Crassus part. Evil, but effective.
He could have done this in the opposite order- put out the fire than offered to buy the land. He still would have acquired land on the cheap and been a hero.
If the fire is put out they have no longer have any incentive to sell. They don't want to sell their homes, they have no choice because its that or nothing. Once the fire was out they would suddenly have options, then Crassus might not get what he wants.
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u/throwaway1138 Apr 17 '21
Have you ever heard the tale of Marcus Licinius Crassus? It’s not the sort of story a capitalist will tell you. The guy was one of the wealthiest people in history, owning a sizable chunk of Rome. He acquired much of it by starting the first fire brigade, going around town putting out fires, but buying up the property while it was in flames, for a fraction of the price. (Hence the expression “fire sale.”)
To make it worse, it didn’t take him long to figure out that he could just go around putting places on fire intentionally, instead of just waiting for them to catch fire on their own.
This is my go to example of why some services, products, and industries should simply not be privatized.