Why I don't respond to most political posts

[drscott]

The Wall Street Journal is running an excellent dialog on economic illiteracy here. When I first joined LJ, I would jump in and try to educate people when they posted angry comments that sprang from a misunderstanding of how the economy works. Over time I have realized that it is impossible to explain complex systems behavior -- the interaction of law, politics, and economics -- to people who don't know (or want to know) anything about economics. It is much easier to assume dark forces of The Rich or The Republicans or (less commonly, here) the Jews are manipulating and conspiring to squeeze the little guy.

It was that misunderstanding among the majority of the populations of developed countries in the 30s that led to years of depression as the international trading system shut down under an assault of beggar-thy-neighbor trade policies, then fascist or communist movements which further exploited the ignorance, then the millions of deaths and destruction of most of Europe and Japan in World War II. So it really does matter when you let yourself fulminate about supposed injustices (high gas prices? price control'em! ... high rents? slap on rent control! ... rich people? Tax'em until they bleed!). You end up not only impoverished but see your freedom, or even your life, vanish. This kind of thinking (the attractions of socialism) is always near the surface, barely restrained by the slim majority that has enough grounding in the real world, or education in history and economics, to realize it's a trap and a delusion to believe you can create wealth and equality through regulation and politics. East Europeans understand exactly why it doesn't work, having had recent experience, but some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet here still believe in fairies.

Comments

[foodpoisoningsf.livejournal.com]

Some of my friends are fairies! I just don't believe they control the world's economy.

[orange-groves.livejournal.com]

A lot of people believe that time began in 1950. Unfortunately, most don't study history.

Terrorism today mirrors the anarchy movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

China has been both an empire and a colony. Japan was many times beneath Korea's thumb intellectually and scientifically. Persia conquered much of the Middle East before being overthrown by Greece, which was in turn overthrown by Rome.

Etal etal etal

[furfairy.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* Who is John Galt?

I am horrified that so many people on Livejournal I consider to be good and thoughtful want to hand someone else so much power (socialism) and ultimately their freedom. If only economics, and more specifically, finance and rudimentary business skills (not typing) were taugt at the high school level. I managed to get through Piedmont High and then Northwestern University without taking either.

[furfairy.livejournal.com]

I mis-typed. Economics is often taught in highschools, including mine. But it was not required, and was a niche class almost exclusively for the AP kids. (My only AP classes were physics and English.)

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

That's so cute. A Jon Galt reference after all. Now, THAT'S enlightening!

So things move on. Just like you mentioned. The Fascists do make some trends.

[tmaher.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm a social democrat. I'll happily accept that many blunt market controls and subsidies can screw more people over than they help (rent controlled rental properties drive up the market rate, US agricultural subsidies screw African farmers), but how do we deal with ensuring a simple minimum standard of living?

Is it really okay long-term to dismantle Social Security? Is the US still okay without a national health care system (Toyota seems to like Canada's)? Are my fears the product of a miseducation at the hands of a sensationalist media and my own intellectual laziness at not thoroughly learning how that whole economy thing works?

Also, I think you're mischaracterizing when you claim people believe are sure Evil Rich Republicans "are manipulating and conspiring to squeeze the little guy." I don't believe they're conspiring at all. Any market-driven little-guy squeezing is due to negligence, not malice.

[tmaher.livejournal.com]

We should require more Economics education in our public schools.

Wait, that might require more money to hire clueful economics teachers, which would translate into higher taxes. Sounds awfully socialist to me.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

*Those* fairies I believe in. They wouldn't dream of controlling anyone. :-)

It's the sock puppets you have to watch out for...

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

The unfortunate link in the feedback loop is a stagnant public education system. Run by state employees who are increasingly ignorant themselves, their students are less and less educated in those topics. I can remember being annoyed at compulsory classes in state history, for example, but at least the legislature of that era was trying to pass on the critical information on how and why the state and country had evolved as it had. There's nothing wrong with diversity training and environmental education, but letting such soft topics crowd out the core studies of Western Civ is criminal negligence.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

The "economics" usually taught in Econ 101 is a very simple supply/demand version only valid in unrealistic conditions. It is sort of like teaching Newtonian mechanics and then declaring that all natural phenomena have been explained; it fails to capture most of what's complex and interesting about the world.

And those people can spend a lifetime believing that, if only things were run the way they wish, they would be happy and everyone would benefit. Since things never are run the way they wish, they have no direct expereince to prove them wrong. Believing a new golden age (or the return of some previous one) is prevented by Bad People protects you from having to address your own failures.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

"We" don't exist. When "we" (on any level larger than a village) decide to "do something" to insure a minimum standard of living, it requires that we hire a large number of functionaries to determine who should receive the assistance to reach it. Those people owe their livelihoods to the problem they are addressing, the political forces who created them know they are more likely to be reliable voters for them, and the people so helped also have an incentive to keep the help system rolling. Motives are corrupted, the clients are turned into dependents, and the poverty is perpetuated.

At a village level, before the onset of competition from government social service agencies, people would help each other. Local organizations like town governments, churches, protective associations and the like took care of those in need. But along with aid came a dose of social education: the recipients knew they had to return the favor by themslves being civilized, by being part of the community, by avoiding actions which their community would see as contrary to the spirit of the community. That's how the moral hazard of a social safety net ("why work when you can loaf and someone will take care of you?") was not so much a problem -- people were grateful, did their best to get their independence back, and could count on advice and assistance from people who cared about them as people.

Social Security is a major problem. As you point out, it is built into everyone's expectations of the future even though it is not likely to have the money to pay its obligations past 2060 or so, and long before then the US government will be forced into a spiral of higher taxes and declining growth to try to cover the debt it owes the system (money which was spent happily as if it were current income.) "Dismantling" it is not on anyone's agenda, though it's a scare term used by some to frighten others into voting for them.

What you believe is considerably more informed and enlightened than average. You don't have to go far to find people saying it's been a Bush plan to raise oil prices to enrich his friends. You don't have to go far to find people who suggest that because a regimented, thoroughly repressive and anti-gay Cuban government is able to evacuate more effectively in case of hurricane, that the US should model itself along Cuban lines. No doubt Cuban trains also run on time....

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Ayn Rand wrote cartoonish propaganda, something she was quite familiar with since she grew up in the Soviet Union. Sort of a "fight fire with fire" strategy, but long since devolved into a cult. Yet she did serve to educate a lot of people during a period when collectivism was ascendant that it was a hazard to both freedom and prosperity.

[abearius.livejournal.com]

Does the art deco icon signify that you have an opinion on Ayn Rand's works?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this.

You might enjoy the cafehayek feed.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

That's strange -- your other lengthy comment disappeared. I'm having a really busy day today so I won't get back to you at length until later, but my "Cuba as model" anecdote was more about a letter to the editor of the Palo Alto Daily calling for revolution since Cuba had clearly proven its system was superior. I enjoy *our* back-and-forth because you bring formidable background to it and usually teach me something I don't know.

[abearius.livejournal.com]

The longer comment semed better kept off line.

So what let you to become a Randroid?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

That looks like an interesting feed. Thanks!

[malcarne.livejournal.com]

Thanks, also. I appreciate the rigor you bring to your posts.