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> Economics has overdeveloped tools for reasoning based on price information in a "free" market of "rational" agents, and underdeveloped tools for actually valu
by chimeracoder 8y ago
> Economics has overdeveloped tools for reasoning based on price information in a "free" market of "rational" agents, and underdeveloped tools for actually valuing resources from first principles. The former corresponds to your first axis ("how much you want it") and the latter to the second axis ("how much it costs the world to let you have it"). That's why, when facing any hard problem, the economics solution is to assume that markets will figure it out i.e. the two axis are equivalent. (Further, whether the two should be conflated is actually a political decision, which is ignored in this sly exchange!)
This is not true at all. There is no conflation between "how much you want it" and "how much it costs the world to let you have it". Even the models taught in introductory undergraduate courses on economics are capable of addressing the "problems" you're describing.
- pc86 8y agoIt's almost as if the person commenting has no economic education whatsoever.
- chimeracoder 8y ago> It's almost as if the person commenting has no economic education whatsoever. Unfortunately, this is par for the course for HN comment threads about economics and economic policy. As someone who does have a degree in economics, it's as frustrating as sitting and listening to someone talk about why chemistry is broken because the Bohr model is incomplete and electrons don't inhabit shells.
- hndamien 8y agoArguing from a point of authority doesn't help enlighten anybody. I have a degree in economics too, it doesn't elucidate anything for a reader or make my arguments any more correct. Your logical fallacy is here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority
- mike10010100 8y agoThen why not enunciate your argument and have a productive conversation instead of relying on logical fallacies?
- ace_of_spades 8y agoCare to elaborate for the unenlighted? Constructive discussion can actually help to educate people :)