3 ms·
I don't really think it's all that useful to think of even individual humans as rational or irrational, but in any case: Governments (much like cities, markets
by abathur 7y ago
I don't really think it's all that useful to think of even individual humans as rational or irrational, but in any case:
Governments (much like cities, markets, neighborhoods, societies, companies, social networks, "the media", political parties, academia, unions, religions, etc.) are "run by humans" somewhat like flocks are run by birds.
Yes, studying the nature of individual birds can teach you a little bit about flocks, but you've zoomed out to a level where it's more useful to talk about systems and dynamics. Can't see the forest for the trees, as they say.
- pdonis 7y agoThis amounts to saying: we humans can't really predict the behavior of entities like governments. That just makes the problem I was pointing at worse.
- abathur 7y agoNo, it doesn't. It amounts to saying that different rules and dynamics govern higher-order systems. It's not that the ir-/rationality of individual participants isn't a factor--but multiple interacting systems and feedback loops are creating the weather that those actors have to make decisions within.