Heretic ideas on the price of information

Abstract

Many people tend to support the commonplace statement that information is, similarly to any goods or service, a commodity with a determined price. A direct consequence of this idea is that, as any production of goods, the information industry can financially support itself if it produces good "commodity". The author, opposing these commonplace ideas, claims that not any information is commodity which has to be paid for, or what has to be paid for is not always the information. It means also that the allegation proclaimed by many is generally not true. To prove his heretic ideas, the author introduces and analyses the concept of information core to distinguish it from the added value. He classifies various types of information into three categories: information which has to be paid for obviously; information which has not to be paid for obviously: something has to be paid for but is uncertain what It Is and how much. Exampies are discussed for each category which prove it clearly that not any information has a distinct price and, if it has, the clear statement of price is impossible. Consequently, information industry is not a commodity producing sector and it can never be seif-supporting; its cost ue recovered at the level of gross national economy.