Supply and demand, I am

NOW THAT some Dr. Seuss books are being discontinued, and the cable news networks that lean starboard are shouting Censorship!, folks are discovering another surprise twist to this latest saga. It’s called supply and demand.

Apparently, with word Dr. Seuss Enterprises was ceasing publication of six books that have “racist imagery” inside, prices for said titles have gone up, up, up.

“Facebook Marketplace and private buy and sell groups had multiple ads for copies of all titles at a sale price of up to $500 each,” The Toronto Star reports. “On eBay, a listing by a top-rated seller for a copy of ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street’ was listed at $1,262.59. On Amazon, copies of ‘McElligot’s Pool,’ ‘Scrambled Eggs Super!’ ‘On Beyond Zebra!’ and ‘If I Ran the Zoo’ were listed by private sellers for up to $3,184.50.”

That’s a lot of cash, and these aren’t exactly autographed copies being sold.

For perspective, a used copy of “Green Eggs and Ham” typically sells for as low as $11.

Free market is a funny thing. Some folks read online that Dr. Seuss has been “canceled” (he hasn’t), and suddenly, his discontinued books are worth thousands of dollars.

And while folks are screaming about censorship, this comes down to another aspect of the free market. If the publisher decides not to publish anymore, that’s that. These six books weren’t even Dr. Seuss’ most popular titles. It’s not like “The Lorax” got the axe (though we wish that last “Grinch” movie had).

Some folks want to own these books for nostalgia, but others are ready to buy them and “stick it to the man.” Strange how the human mind works. All someone has to do is think a book is forbidden, and they’ll suddenly spend thousands of dollars on it, when it normally wouldn’t have sold for $20.

What a world.