Our own Gosplan, the U.S. Congress, hasn't been as extreme, thanks to the American people and our traditions of liberty. But it's still the biggest collection of economic meddlers and ignoramuses west of Moscow. When the price system functions freely, it brings supply and demand into rough equality, ensuring that resources are put to their most-valued uses. To the extent that government meddles with prices, it creates waste, hampers entrepreneurship, and makes people poorer. If more tomatoes come on the market, their price goes down, telling consumers they can eat more.
Prices thus constitute a system of resource conservation.
The recent hysteria over African elephant tusks was another problem of prices and property rights. The same principle applies to all other resources. If left in common ownership, there will be misuse. An example of market response in the animal market was the Cayman Turtle Farm in the British West Indies. The green sea turtle was considered endangered, thanks to overharvesting due to common ownership.