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Caplan is absolutely correct to say the much of education system is a waste of resources, a pointless zero-sum competition that simply re-arranges people on the
by djrobstep 9y ago
Caplan is absolutely correct to say the much of education system is a waste of resources, a pointless zero-sum competition that simply re-arranges people on the socio-economic ladder.
But strangely, Caplan is a libertarian capitalist, an advocate of the very system that sets up and enforces this a socio-economic ladder in the first place.
He's also thus an opponent of any kind of welfare system that would make this competition less intense by making the bottom of the ladder a less miserable place to be and make the difference between the top and bottom less grotesque.
- ThrustVectoring 9y agoYou talk about the socio-economic ladder like it's a bad thing in and of itself. IMO, it's only a bad thing where it sets up an incentive gradient that encourages bad behavior. The libertarian capitalist view is very aware of how you're rewarded with socio-economic status when you feed the hungry, invent cures for diseases, and generally provide wanted goods and services.
- djrobstep 9y ago> you're rewarded with socio-economic status when you feed the hungry LOL
- dang 9y agoCould you please not post like this here, regardless of how wrong someone else is? it just makes the thread even worse. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- djrobstep 9y agoSure. How do you suggest responding to comments too laughable to warrant a serious response?
- DoreenMichele 9y agoA wise old man used to tell me "Silence is the only good reply to stupidity."
- dang 9y agoThat's in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- ThrustVectoring 9y agoIf there aren't farmers, restaurants, grocery stores, and all the vast amounts of work done to put food on our tables, we're all going hungry. That's the point I was trying to make, it didn't quite make it to coherent words like your reaction indicates. People go into McDonald's hungry and walk out full, and the owner gets their money for doing that useful work for society.