A market burns and information does too.

It's two years since a major fire at the central market in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura.  There's a video here.

A market on fire is like information burning.  A market brings together buyers and sellers, and reduces the amount of time that they have to go looking for each other.  I'm a supporter, particularly in Central Africa where other business-to-consumer information is less readily available.

However, the trend in developed countries is not always for more perfectly informed consumers.  The most successful supermarkets here now look like many supermarkets in Africa, with consumers left to sort out their own goods in disorganised (but very full) buildings.  The goods are much cheaper than in more ordered businesses, however.