The unstated assumption is voluntary trades in a system of private property rights. Under those conditions, neither side will agree to the trade unless they benefit from it, so value is created for both sides.
So the mafia protection fee is a robbery, not a trade. The mandatory membership probably too.
The bread loaf is a trade, and both people undeniably profit.
Emotionally, it feels "exploitative", but if you think about it, things are less clear. In reality, people stock up food to be prepared to sell it during famines in order to make profits. But this is often made illegal as "profiteering", and as a result no one stock up food, and more people die when the famine comes.
The unstated assumption is voluntary trades in a system of private property rights. Under those conditions, neither side will agree to the trade unless they benefit from it, so value is created for both sides.
So the mafia protection fee is a robbery, not a trade. The mandatory membership probably too.
The bread loaf is a trade, and both people undeniably profit.
Emotionally, it feels "exploitative", but if you think about it, things are less clear. In reality, people stock up food to be prepared to sell it during famines in order to make profits. But this is often made illegal as "profiteering", and as a result no one stock up food, and more people die when the famine comes.