4 ms·

I find it a bit humorous that Peter Thiel is "bullish" on life-extension research while fervently backing a party that is doing everything in its power to make

I find it a bit humorous that Peter Thiel is "bullish" on life-extension research while fervently backing a party that is doing everything in its power to make Earth uninhabitable in the near future.

hokumguru 8y ago
A common misconception. I think the average conservative definitely believes that we need to take measures to protect this planet. We just don't necessarily believe that government should be the method of action. Traditionally the market is vastly more efficient at solving these hard problems...
- unchocked 8y ago
  I’d appreciate hearing a conservative history of markets correcting unpriced externalities.
  - mcphage 8y ago
    Here you go:
- babypuncher 8y ago
  The market needs incentive to solve these long term problems, but our entire economy is built around incentivising short term growth over long-term stability.
- TheAdamAndChe 8y ago
  I am curious, how could the market efficiently avoid the continued increase in atmospheric CO2 without government interventions? Isn't the continued use of incredibly cheap energy sources like oil too tempting?
- Apocryphon 8y ago
  https://www.npr.org/2014/06/03/318414868/gop-demonizes-once-favored-cap-and-trade-policy https://www.npr.org/2014/06/03/318414868/gop-demonizes-once-...
- moccachino 8y ago
  I think the misconception is on your side here. For the longest time, conservatives said that climate change was a hoax, then that it might be happening but it's no big deal, then now it seems the position is that it may be a big deal but it's a natural process and humans shouldn't try to solve it.
- dgemm 8y ago
  Markets are efficient because firms optimize along essentially one dimension. It is naive to think that markets will magically solve any problem that does not naturally align with that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
- iamlemec 8y ago
  The precondition here is, of course, incorrect. The latest Pew survey puts the percentage of Republicans who believe in anthropogenic climate change at about 25%. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/14/many-republican-millennials-differ-with-older-party-members-on-climate-change-and-energy-issues/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/14/many-republi...
- Patient0 8y ago
  The problem is that the market is not great at solving "Tragedy of the Commons" situations. The ideal solution, IMO, is to agree a cap on CO2 emmissions, but make them tradable, so that the market can be used to figure out the most efficient way to limit the emissions.

I find it a bit humorous that Peter Thiel is "bullish" on life-extension research while fervently backing a party that is doing everything in its power to make Earth uninhabitable in the near future.

hokumguru 8y ago

A common misconception. I think the average conservative definitely believes that we need to take measures to protect this planet. We just don't necessarily believe that government should be the method of action. Traditionally the market is vastly more efficient at solving these hard problems...

unchocked 8y ago
I’d appreciate hearing a conservative history of markets correcting unpriced externalities.
- mcphage 8y ago
  Here you go:
babypuncher 8y ago
The market needs incentive to solve these long term problems, but our entire economy is built around incentivising short term growth over long-term stability.
TheAdamAndChe 8y ago
I am curious, how could the market efficiently avoid the continued increase in atmospheric CO2 without government interventions? Isn't the continued use of incredibly cheap energy sources like oil too tempting?
Apocryphon 8y ago
https://www.npr.org/2014/06/03/318414868/gop-demonizes-once-favored-cap-and-trade-policy https://www.npr.org/2014/06/03/318414868/gop-demonizes-once-...
moccachino 8y ago
I think the misconception is on your side here. For the longest time, conservatives said that climate change was a hoax, then that it might be happening but it's no big deal, then now it seems the position is that it may be a big deal but it's a natural process and humans shouldn't try to solve it.
dgemm 8y ago
Markets are efficient because firms optimize along essentially one dimension. It is naive to think that markets will magically solve any problem that does not naturally align with that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
iamlemec 8y ago
The precondition here is, of course, incorrect. The latest Pew survey puts the percentage of Republicans who believe in anthropogenic climate change at about 25%. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/14/many-republican-millennials-differ-with-older-party-members-on-climate-change-and-energy-issues/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/14/many-republi...
Patient0 8y ago
The problem is that the market is not great at solving "Tragedy of the Commons" situations. The ideal solution, IMO, is to agree a cap on CO2 emmissions, but make them tradable, so that the market can be used to figure out the most efficient way to limit the emissions.