Libertarians often say "Every voluntary trade is mutually beneficial in the ex ante sense." I think this is false. I wrote about this, and some related thoughts on marketing and voluntary exchange.
https://blog.georgeoughttohelp.com/psyop-versus-the-mutual-benefit-of-trade/
You pointed out an interesting problem, but I still think that if someone engages in a voluntary transaction, they have to anticipate that it will be beneficial for them. They may anticipate it for the wrong reasons (meaning that they will not be satisfied ex post) and PSYOP may play a big role here, but I think it's still a special case of an error of judgment, because, after all, it's their decision and their anticipation.
"but I still think that if someone engages in a voluntary transaction, they have to anticipate that it will be beneficial for them."
Because of what we know about confabulation, this might not be a good description of what's going on in at least some cases: Our emotional systems make a decision, and then our neocortex confabulates a story about why we decided the way we did, after the fact (ie. why this thing might benefit us).
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