Law of the Harvest

Something really caught my eye recently that really made me think about the state of society.  I saw an add that read:

iPad 2 Blowout - 93% off

Get a new Apple iPad 2 for $89.95 Limited Supply. Get your iPad Today

This really interested me, not for the fact that an iPad could potentially be found for such a ridiculously low price, but that there are people out there willing to fall for such scammy tactics.  It made me wonder, how many people will click on that advertisement in hopes of being able to 'score it big' by getting an iPad for that price?  It made me also wonder what were they really going to have to do to get the iPad, even if it weren't an outright lie.

The law of the harvest teaches a few lessons.  That which you sow, that also will you reap.  You cannot expect to be able to reap tomatoes if you plant carrots.  Nothing in life is free.  There is a price to be paid for everything.  The reason why something like the cheap iPad is a fable is because the world does not operate in that way.  It is an economic anomaly to sell something for 93% of its retail value, especially when you take into account that fact that a greater profit could be attained by the seller even selling it for 50% of its value, for example.

In the legal realm, we have the concept of consideration.  Simply put, consideration is an exchange of value between parties.  The value exchanged must be of sensible fairness. You go to the Apple Store and pay $500, you get an iPad.  Apple gets the value of cash, you get the value of having a shiny new gadget.  A fair exchange has been made, and barring buyer's remorse, both parties are happy.  The problem with the ad mentioned earlier is that it plays to the lusts of society, getting something for nearly nothing.  That sort of greed clouds judgement and tries to take advantage of the weak of society.  It is both an indicator of the predators and the prey.