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I think one glaring hole is that it’s very hard to incentivize people to maximize someone else’s utility. You don’t just say the words “maximize utility” and it
by kolbe 7y ago
I think one glaring hole is that it’s very hard to incentivize people to maximize someone else’s utility. You don’t just say the words “maximize utility” and it just gets done.
- Gibbon1 7y agoI keep coming back to; simpleton economic incentives can't fix a lack of good faith. I first noted that when reading Samuel Pepys diary entry where he crows both about the fat kick back he got on an order timber for ships masts. And the really good price he got as well.
- simpsond 7y agoThis is a good point. What is utility here? I think the primary utility is highly available electricity. How is that maximized? I don't know how to do that tactically, so I should stop talking... but strategically it's about minimizing risk. I suppose that involves having a highly connected grid to many power sources (solar, wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc) to mitigate a SPOF. It should also involve low risk transmission (underground where possible, multipath, etc). This all comes at a great cost... but if profit is important (or required for the CEO to keep his job), not all money goes to improving the system, but to lining pockets of investors. So yeah, there needs to be a plan, but the current plan is keep things working and yield dividends to shareholders.