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Yes! I've made a similar observation that politicians have abdicated their responsibility for decision making in many policy matters. And that good politicians

Yes! I've made a similar observation that politicians have abdicated their responsibility for decision making in many policy matters. And that good politicians are really all that keeps us from some sort of creepy technocracy where we are forced to behave "for our own good" based on someone else's narrow version of what our own good it. There was even a Simpsons episode about it, where the nerds took over the city leadership (also a similarly themed fresh price I believe where Carleton ran the school cafeteria). Covid is the most obvious ongoing example but I think the thread is there through how all kinds of new technology is managed, from ride sharing, crypto, etc, to digital records and data collection. The economy is another great example I never really thought about. Unfortunately, nothing will change in my view until we have a decent batch of politicians come along that are both principled to want to do something beyond just pandering to whoever is loudest, and charismatic enough to build the consensus that is needed for tough change. I suspect this will have to wait until a real serious crisis comes along that galvanized people into putting the usual retail political aside.

omginternets 6y ago
>we have a decent batch of politicians come along that are both principled to want to do something beyond just pandering to whoever is loudest I think this in turn can only happen if we abandon the idea that markets should be the main mechanism by which we regulate society (and by extension, politics). This kind of collective (ideally sensible) risk-taking requires a debate centered on shared values, rather than just material outcomes. On another note, it is really nice to see that I'm not alone in having these thoughts. Thank you for your comment. :)
mattmanser 6y ago
On the other hand the reason why so many modern economies have "outsourced" the decision making on central banking is because when it was up to them, they'd pull the short-term gain, long-term collapse lever too often.
- omginternets 6y ago
  It took me a while to put a finger on what seems wrong about this take. I don't think politicians have "outsourced" the work to the invisible hand (n.b.: not banks per se) because they failed to make long-term decisions. I think they "outsourced" the work because it reduces their responsibility in the eyes of the public. The point is that the invisible hand also makes short-term decisions, in addition to all the other problems it produces. This is not an improvement!

omginternets 6y ago

>we have a decent batch of politicians come along that are both principled to want to do something beyond just pandering to whoever is loudest I think this in turn can only happen if we abandon the idea that markets should be the main mechanism by which we regulate society (and by extension, politics). This kind of collective (ideally sensible) risk-taking requires a debate centered on shared values, rather than just material outcomes. On another note, it is really nice to see that I'm not alone in having these thoughts. Thank you for your comment. :)

mattmanser 6y ago

On the other hand the reason why so many modern economies have "outsourced" the decision making on central banking is because when it was up to them, they'd pull the short-term gain, long-term collapse lever too often.

omginternets 6y ago
It took me a while to put a finger on what seems wrong about this take. I don't think politicians have "outsourced" the work to the invisible hand (n.b.: not banks per se) because they failed to make long-term decisions. I think they "outsourced" the work because it reduces their responsibility in the eyes of the public. The point is that the invisible hand also makes short-term decisions, in addition to all the other problems it produces. This is not an improvement!