Comic Transcript
FRANK: I’ve solved the Merchant’s Paradox!
ALICE: You WHAT?
PHIL: What’s that?
FRANK: I did. I solved it. It will work!
ALICE: Are you sure?
PHIL: What’s a “Merchant’s Paradox?” I’ve never heard of this.
ALICE: The Merchant’s Paradox states that the Merchant has the most economic power immediately before they sell their product to the customer. Once they sell the product, the customer has what they want and their need for the merchant decreases dramatically. But the merchant needs to sell the product in order to generate revenue, so the only way the merchant can stay in business is to continuously reduce their economic power by selling the things that give them that power.
FRANK: And I solved it!
ALICE: I’ll set up a meeting so we can review it. If all checks out, then we can–
PHIL: How is that a paradox, exactly? Isn’t that just a description of the way commerce is supposed to work?
(Silence.)
ALICE: I keep forgetting you’re new to this.
