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Well, we are currently running a global experiment to find out whether it is better for the economy to be negligent or have a robust public heath response durin

by cultus 7y ago

Well, we are currently running a global experiment to find out whether it is better for the economy to be negligent or have a robust public heath response during a pandemic. We'll know soon.

Nuzzerino 7y ago
I would argue that in this context, you can't make conclusions about "the economy" in terms of objective good or bad. There are economies at varying topographies, scales, and market sectors. There are also philosophical differences in what a desirable economy looks like. For example, there's an increasing number of opinions that an economy heavily based on oil and gas energy, and military defense contractors, is not a desirable one. Some others in a very small minority (possibly happening to be in power) may argue that parts of the economy that are not resilient to hardship are not desirable parts, and therefore should be culled when the opportunity presents itself. I would not be surprised if this was a factor in the decisions being made right now.
baybal2 7y ago
Different economies have different amount of money to loose. You can't compare apples to oranges. In China, which has way more to loose from the real economy going down, nobody is running to sell their business now. A factory during a crisis, is still a factory. Now look how many people have cashed out in USA already, despite US economy being much more virtual, and service based, and supposedly more resilient. We are much more likely see whose economy is more resilient, and not whose immediate response was better. Panic factor? Chinese are by far more freaked out now than most Americans. Even now, Americans trust their government more than Chinese to CPC. Illiquid assets factor? No, you can sell a factory in China way faster than you can sell a typical dotcom in America. It's really just Chinese still looking up to seek more fortunes more than American business people do, and America being way more vulnurable to panic buy/sells. And it's only the last point above, where an immediate response matters: In a society more susceptible to mass panic among the business elites, you can reduce the impact by increasing their confidence by showing competent early response.
- catalogia 7y ago
  It's not clear to me why a 'service-based' economy should be expected to weather a pandemic better than a 'factory-based' economy. In the plants I've worked in, you could clock in, do your work, then go home without ever talking to anybody. The work was not particularly incompatible with social/physical distancing. On the other hand, face-to-face human interaction is central to much of the 'service-economy.'

by cultus 7y ago

Well, we are currently running a global experiment to find out whether it is better for the economy to be negligent or have a robust public heath response during a pandemic. We'll know soon.

Nuzzerino 7y ago

I would argue that in this context, you can't make conclusions about "the economy" in terms of objective good or bad. There are economies at varying topographies, scales, and market sectors. There are also philosophical differences in what a desirable economy looks like. For example, there's an increasing number of opinions that an economy heavily based on oil and gas energy, and military defense contractors, is not a desirable one. Some others in a very small minority (possibly happening to be in power) may argue that parts of the economy that are not resilient to hardship are not desirable parts, and therefore should be culled when the opportunity presents itself. I would not be surprised if this was a factor in the decisions being made right now.

baybal2 7y ago

Different economies have different amount of money to loose. You can't compare apples to oranges. In China, which has way more to loose from the real economy going down, nobody is running to sell their business now. A factory during a crisis, is still a factory. Now look how many people have cashed out in USA already, despite US economy being much more virtual, and service based, and supposedly more resilient. We are much more likely see whose economy is more resilient, and not whose immediate response was better. Panic factor? Chinese are by far more freaked out now than most Americans. Even now, Americans trust their government more than Chinese to CPC. Illiquid assets factor? No, you can sell a factory in China way faster than you can sell a typical dotcom in America. It's really just Chinese still looking up to seek more fortunes more than American business people do, and America being way more vulnurable to panic buy/sells. And it's only the last point above, where an immediate response matters: In a society more susceptible to mass panic among the business elites, you can reduce the impact by increasing their confidence by showing competent early response.

catalogia 7y ago
It's not clear to me why a 'service-based' economy should be expected to weather a pandemic better than a 'factory-based' economy. In the plants I've worked in, you could clock in, do your work, then go home without ever talking to anybody. The work was not particularly incompatible with social/physical distancing. On the other hand, face-to-face human interaction is central to much of the 'service-economy.'