tegwick
41773f1320
Add OpenAIAdapter for the OpenAI chat completions API (apikey-chatgpt.txt or OPENAI_API_KEY). Set default model to arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free for the infospace pipeline and increase max_tokens from 4096 to 8192. Reprocess chapter 05 with Trinity Large (was Gemini: 1 truncated entity, now 19 complete entities). Process chapters 06 (Aurora Alpha, 10 entities) and 07 (Trinity Large, 15 entities including regenerated violent-policy.md). Canonical set now at 85 unique entities. Add entity archive policy: entities are never silently deleted. Retired entities move to output/entities/archive/ with a dated reason header. New CLI option: --archive-entity <slug> --reason "...". The --list output shows the archive count alongside the canonical set. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
1.8 KiB
extraordinary-profit
extraordinary-gains
Definition
Extraordinary profit (or extraordinary gains) refers to profits that exceed the ordinary rate of profit in a neighbourhood, typically arising from temporary market conditions, monopolies, or special advantages. These profits attract new competitors and tend to be eliminated over time as the market adjusts, causing market prices to return to natural prices. They may also arise from discoveries, monopolies, or temporary scarcities.
Source Chapter
Book 1, Chapter 7: "OF THE NATURAL AND MARKET PRICE OF COMMODITIES."
Context
Smith discusses extraordinary profits as temporary deviations from normal market conditions. He explains how they arise from various causes including monopolies, temporary scarcities, and special advantages, and how they tend to be eliminated by market competition as new entrants are attracted by the higher returns.
Economic Domain
Exchange
Smith's Original Wording
"When, by an increase in the effectual demand, the market price of some particular commodity happens to rise a good deal above the natural price, those who employ their stocks in supplying that market, are generally careful to conceal this change. If it was commonly known, their great profit would tempt so many new rivals to employ their stocks in the same way, that, the effectual demand being fully supplied, the market price would soon be reduced to the natural price, and, perhaps, for some time even below it."
Modern Interpretation
Extraordinary profits represent temporary supernormal returns that signal market opportunities to competitors. Their elimination through market entry demonstrates the equilibrating tendency of competitive markets, a fundamental principle in classical and neoclassical economics.