Price discrimination doesn't guarantee cheaper products for poor people.
E.g. the same shampoo when labeled for women here costs more.
Or say Netflix costs less in some regions that are considered poor, but the rich people there still pay the lesser price.
If a business is only viable by extracting the most from every individual instead of finding a fair price, is it really better for society that business exists?
What a about the principle of fairness and people being treated equally?
> E.g. the same shampoo when labeled for women here costs more.
Hmmm... is it really the "same" shampoo? In my experience, products aimed at women typically have fancier packaging, added scent, and often exotic ingredients (which may or may not have any actual effect).
All of those things cost more money.
It's like the argument about laundering and pressing women's blouses costing more than men's dress shirts.
Men's shirts are more or less standardized, and can be processed using semi-automated equipment, while women's blouses often have lace, ruffles, or other decoration, large fancy buttons, unusual cuts, etc. and have to be pressed by hand.
> What an about the principle of fairness and people being treated equally?
Life is not fair from the moment of conception choosing which parents and location you are born to.
> If a business is only viable by extracting the most from every individual instead of finding a fair price, is it really better for society that business exists?
A buyer buying for the lowest price they can and the seller selling for the highest price they can is the definition of a fair price. Since supply and demand curves are constantly in flux, the fair price is also constantly in flux. Hence the practice of haggling with every vendor in old school markets/bazaars, even for daily vegetables.
The principle that it’s better for
company management to exploit finance market inefficiencies to yield profit today at the expense of the investors and bond holders caught holding the bag tomorrow.
The principle that poor people are the majority and prefer to pay less for things.
The principle that it's better for consumers and producers to engage in trade than to force a business to be unviable.