--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is irrational to charge high prices…" description: "\"It is irrational to charge high prices for socially valuable innovations as this guarantees that they will be underutilized. It is much better to sell ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/thomas-pogge-7757_agriculture_it-is-irrational-to-charge-high-prices-f_1379997.jpg" --- # It is irrational to charge high prices for socially… ![“It is irrational to charge high prices for socially valuable innovations as this guarantees that they will be underutilized. It is much better to sell them at cost and then to reward the innovator in some other way. This is not always possible, because in some cases the value of an innovation is…” quote by Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/thomas-pogge-7757_agriculture_it-is-irrational-to-charge-high-prices-f_1379997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/thomas-pogge-7757_agriculture_it-is-irrational-to-charge-high-prices-f_1379997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/thomas-pogge-7757_agriculture_it-is-irrational-to-charge-high-prices-f_1379997.jpg) > “It is irrational to charge high prices for socially valuable innovations as this guarantees that they will be underutilized. It is much better to sell them at cost and then to reward the innovator in some other way. This is not always possible, because in some cases the value of an innovation is in the eye of the beholder; it's very difficult to value how much a new Madonna song is worth, for example. But in the case of medicines, green technologies and seeds in agriculture, such an alternative reward mechanism is fairly straightforward.” [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Charging high prices for socially valuable innovations leads to underuse; selling at cost and rewarding innovators differently can improve access. **In simple terms:** High prices reduce use; cost pricing helps access. Key Takeaway Price innovations to improve access. Themes ethics economics innovation public health environment Mood concerned hopeful Type policy ethical When to use this quote - medicine distribution - green tech adoption - agricultural seed sharing Key Concepts social welfare incentive structures pricing models Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance profit and public good? - What alternative rewards are most effective? A Different Perspective Cost pricing may reduce profit incentives for private R&D. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Alternative Reward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-reward-4777706/) [Alternatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternatives/) [Beholder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beholder/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eye of the beholder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye-of-the-beholder/) [Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green/) [Green technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green-technology/) [Guarantees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantees/) [Guarantees that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantees-that/) [High prices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-prices/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Innovators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovators/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Reward Innovator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward-innovator-4777705/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeds/) [Sells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sells/) [Socially Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socially-valuable-4304911/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Straightforward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straightforward/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable/) [Valuable Innovations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable-innovations-4777704/) [Value Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-innovation-368335/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“at a societal level there is a surprising shortage of institutions designed to judge what really works and which ideas deserve to be backed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-mulgan/at-a-societal-level-there-is-a-surprising-shortage-of-institutions/) [Geoff Mulgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-mulgan/) > [We have this highly irrational system of incentivizing innovation for clean and green technologies, where we allow the innovator to have a temporary monopoly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/we-have-this-highly-irrational-system-of-incentivizing-innovation-for/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Suppose that climate change is not real and all we do is adopt green technologies, which our economy and our technology is perfectly capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/suppose-that-climate-change-is-not-real-and-all-we-do-is-adopt-green/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [The Recovery Act, which helped saved the economy and prevented us going into the Great Depression, was the largest investment in green technology, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-recovery-act-which-helped-saved-the-economy-and-prevented-us/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In the long run, the only solution I see to the problem of diversity is the expansion of mankind into the universe by means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/in-the-long-run-the-only-solution-i-see-to-the-problem-of-diversity/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Tackling climate change can make us world leaders in burgeoning markets for green technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/tackling-climate-change-can-make-us-world-leaders-in-burgeoning/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [“B-quadrant businesses get tax credits for hiring employees, for increasing their research and development, and for investing in green technology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/b-quadrant-businesses-get-tax-credits-for-hiring-employees-for/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [I know I've got clean, green technology providing all the heating and hot water for my house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/i-know-i-ve-got-clean-green-technology-providing-all-the-heating-and/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [“People had thrown money at green technology because it seemed like the right thing to do, not because it made business sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/people-had-thrown-money-at-green-technology-because-it-seemed-like/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [Neodymium is one of 17 'rare-earth metals,' and these elements have turned out to be critical to the rapidly-growing green technology industries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/neodymium-is-one-of-17-rare-earth-metals-and-these-elements-have/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [“Visionary organizations that value innovation should have simple customer vision statements. They need to imagine—and articulate—who and what their customers should become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schrage/visionary-organizations-that-value-innovation-should-have-simple/) [Michael Schrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schrage/) > [“In a nutshell, Blue Ocean Strategy is about creating completely new industries through fundamental differentiation as opposed to competing in existing industries by tweaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-osterwalder/in-a-nutshell-blue-ocean-strategy-is-about-creating-completely-new/) [Alexander Osterwalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-osterwalder/) > [What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly...timeliness. I fear you may be too late, my confused, unfortunate, friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-is-it-we-value-innovation-originality-novelty-but-most/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [You can't assess the value of an innovation in isolation, you have to consider whose hands it's in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/you-can-t-assess-the-value-of-an-innovation-in-isolation-you-have-to/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [“They agreed on five core values and wrote them down on a whiteboard in a conference room: customer obsession, frugality, bias for action, ownership,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/they-agreed-on-five-core-values-and-wrote-them-down-on-a-whiteboard/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) ## More by Thomas Pogge > [I think that many citizens understand how our system works, or rather, fails to work, for structural reasons. But who has the capacity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/i-think-that-many-citizens-understand-how-our-system-works-or-rather/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [The massive corruption common in so many developing countries would be quite impossible if Western countries did not provide convenient opportunities to ship ill-gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/the-massive-corruption-common-in-so-many-developing-countries-would/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [What we should do is require or at least permit innovators to license their green innovations free of charge in exchange for public payments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/what-we-should-do-is-require-or-at-least-permit-innovators-to-license/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [You can get an ice-cold Coke for around fifty cents in most developing countries, not just in the major population centers, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/you-can-get-an-ice-cold-coke-for-around-fifty-cents-in-most/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [I think one big improvement would be if we somehow made it cheaper and easier for developing countries to learn from the sad experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/i-think-one-big-improvement-would-be-if-we-somehow-made-it-cheaper/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Purchasing power parities are not a reasonable method for comparing households across countries or currencies. The reason for this is simply that PPPs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/purchasing-power-parities-are-not-a-reasonable-method-for-comparing/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [The extremely low respect Congress enjoys among the population indicates that the citizens understand broadly what's going on. But the lack of a realistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/the-extremely-low-respect-congress-enjoys-among-the-population/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [One citizen, or a few, may be powerless if all the rest are determined to benefit from the imposition of unjust supranational rules. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/one-citizen-or-a-few-may-be-powerless-if-all-the-rest-are-determined/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Severe poverty is getting better by some measures, but it's also becoming ever more scandalous because it is now so easily avoidable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/severe-poverty-is-getting-better-by-some-measures-but-it-s-also/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [To improve global health, it's not enough just to have a really good new product and to obtain marketing approval. You still need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/to-improve-global-health-it-s-not-enough-just-to-have-a-really-good/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [We have the ability now to arrange global economic institutions so that poverty declines to a fraction of what it is now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/we-have-the-ability-now-to-arrange-global-economic-institutions-so/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Dictatorial regimes often manage to keep themselves in power because they are recognized by foreigners as representing the state and its people, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/dictatorial-regimes-often-manage-to-keep-themselves-in-power-because/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Drafts of domestic legislation must be published, debated and publicly voted on, which gives ample opportunities to civil society organizations and ordinary citizens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/drafts-of-domestic-legislation-must-be-published-debated-and-publicly/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [In the United States there are only two exceptions: banks have to report deposits they suspect to be related to either terrorism or drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/in-the-united-states-there-are-only-two-exceptions-banks-have-to/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Large companies are very good at solving extremely complex problems in a globally optimal way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/large-companies-are-very-good-at-solving-extremely-complex-problems/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) [Explore all 88 Thomas Pogge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [As the first Member of Congress from western Washington to serve on the House Agriculture Committee in over 50 years, I am proud to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-larsen/as-the-first-member-of-congress-from-western-washington-to-serve-on/) [Rick Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-larsen/) > [Conventional agriculture has never succeeded in feeding the world, and it's never produced anything good to eat. For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sara Scherr and Jeff McNeely have given us a thoughtful, sensible book about a topic of great importance to the world. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/sara-scherr-and-jeff-mcneely-have-given-us-a-thoughtful-sensible-book/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [People want development, modern thinking. They want to encourage and support research in agriculture and other fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/people-want-development-modern-thinking-they-want-to-encourage-and/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When politicians talk of loan waiver, they are accepting that agriculture is not economically viable. They are giving a wrong signal that farming is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/when-politicians-talk-of-loan-waiver-they-are-accepting-that/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is irrational to charge high prices for socially valuable innovations as this guarantees that they will be underutilized. 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