We already do this in lots of areas. It would be "cheaper" - and doubtless more profitable; lots of people would choose them! - to produce / buy, say, bicycle helmets that are made out of cardboard and nails, but we collectively recognize that would be counter-productive and require that only the "expensive" types be offered for sale. I'm sure there are some people who are upset by this.
I made a more-substantive reply to a sister post, but... Have you seen what people buy? The front page of HN on any given day teems with posts about tech-sector equivalents to cardboard helmets. The buyers usually supply their own nails.
No, I don't think that's right at all. I don't think anyone is "collectively recognizing" anything, and the reason why bicycle helmets made of cardboard and nails are not being sold is because people -- as individuals and not "collectives" -- do not in fact want them.
Forgive me some exaggeration for comic effect. What we'd actually see are helmets which advertise themselves as safe, and which look safe to uninformed external examination, some (but not all) of which are very, very cheap, but any of which (and good luck guessing which ahead of time) might as well be made out of cardboard and nails, and so when you bump it your head explodes. (Alert: black comedy again.)
Instead, in the US the DOT or the CPSC (can't be arsed to look up which) says: "every helmet sold must meet this standard of safety", and then backs that up with guns. Now you're free to price-compare, with the assurance that your head won't explode. (Yah: I keep doing it! Sorry. I like injecting levity into serious subjects. Try not to get distracted.)
Consumers, acting as individuals, have negligible influence over corporate behavior, and are easily misled.
People, acting collectively (in this case as a "government", but as other collective organizations, too - including "corporations"), can stand up to other collectives and force them to adjust their behavior in pro-social ways.
