I assume that the men are living in a democracy where the majority rules. The lesson to be learnt is from the establishment of OPEC. In that example the customers regularly beat up the publican supplying the beers, telling him what price they wanted to pay. However as the number of people supplying beer declined, the publican realised that he could increase his prices and not risk a beating. As the publican became richer, other publicans in other countries followed his example and increased their prices to match his. With the extra expense people drank less and found other drinks. So the commodity controls the market, its scarcity the price, and references of 'going overseas' is a furphy.
