The Vast Information Hidden in a Price
Hayek asked a profound question: the price of a can of tin rises, and at once thousands of tin users the world over economize on tin and look for substitutes — yet the vast majority of them have no idea why the price rose (perhaps a mine closed somewhere, perhaps a new use appeared). They need to know only one signal — "tin has become dearer" — and spontaneously make the right adjustment. From this Hayek argued that market prices are a miraculous information system with no central brain that nonetheless coordinates the actions of billions — the very reason central planning can never replace it.