Mengapa Harga Cabe Tinggi?

Sebagai pecinta cabe dan makanan pedas, saya penasaran ama harga cabe yang melambung tinggi. Bisa jadi ini karena The "Invisible Hand".. Siapa ya The "Invisible Hand" ini?

Kalo kata huppi.com begini nih:
The key to conservative arguments on the free market is a concept called the "invisible hand." This is one of the most popular terms in conservative literature, coined by Adam Smith (a Scottish professor greatly beloved by his students and peers for his delightful absent-mindedness) in his 1776 classic, The Wealth of Nations:

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest... [Every individual] intends only his own security, only his own gain. And he is in this led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it."

But there are many misconceptions about the invisible hand, starting with the belief that Smith himself was a absolute believer in it. In fact, he was not. Smith actually viewed merchants with great suspicion:

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

Another misconception is that the invisible hand is a form of individualism. It would be hard to call the actions of a baker who spends all day baking bread for strangers "individualism." A more accurate word is exchange, and it represents a balance between individualism and collectivism, even if that exchange is ultimately self-interested. True individualism is taking from the group without giving anything back; true collectivism is giving to the group without getting anything back. Seen in this light, the exchange inherent in the invisible hand should deserve the full and enthusiastic endorsement of liberals.

Unfortunately, today's conservatives have corrupted the meaning of Smith's term. They use it to suggest that the pursuit of self-interest in the economy will always (or almost always) result in group benefit, and that individuals should feel free to pursue it.

There are many problems with the invisible hand, even in principle. First, it is simply untrue that personal greed will always result in society's best interest: crime is a devastating counter-example. The very reason we have police and criminal justice systems is to prevent the harm caused to society by individuals seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the group. As long as conservatives admit that traditional crimes like rape, murder and robbery legitimize a government response against them, then it's obvious that extreme positions on the invisible hand are indefensible.

Another line of argument in favor of the invisible hand is that it is the most efficient way to organize an economy. That is, a free market of self-interested individuals is better at producing general prosperity than a government practicing centralized control. This is true up to a point. Individuals are indeed the experts of their local situations, and can respond much more flexibly and quickly to changing demands than centralized government can. For government to micromanage every little aspect of the economy, the centralized planners would require the knowledge of God. This is the main argument against overly-centralized control.

Sedangkan menurut Answer.com : An economic principle, first postulated by Adam Smith, holding that the greatest benefit to a society is brought about by individuals acting freely in a competitive marketplace in the pursuit of their own self-interest.

Kalo menurut investorwords.com :
Term used by Adam Smith to describe the natural force that guides free market capitalism through competition for scarce resources. According to Adam Smith, in a free market each participant will try to maximize self-interest, and the interaction of market participants, leading to exchange of goods and services, enables each participant to be better of than when simply producing for himself/herself. He further said that in a free market, no regulation of any type would be needed to ensure that the mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services took place, since this "invisible hand" would guide market participants to trade in the most mutually beneficial manner.

Yang jelas si Invisible Hand ini bisa jadi musuh bersama karena telah berusaha mengambil keuntungan bagi diri atau kelompoknya sendiri dengan menyusahkan banyak orang.
Masa' harga cabe Rp 100.000,-?