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This isn’t unusual in academia btw. It’s an open secret that economics departments are bought the same way— a generous donation to the department in exchange fo
by SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago
This isn’t unusual in academia btw. It’s an open secret that economics departments are bought the same way— a generous donation to the department in exchange for the donor hand-picking the department chair.
- nerpderp82 3y agoInvisible Hand indeed.
- miohtama 3y agoThe invisible hand has its thumb up.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Arson9416 3y agoWhat does this have to do with the free market?
- ajkjk 3y agoFairly obvious, right?
- Arson9416 3y agoNo, which is why I'm asking.
- fmbb 3y agoThe current economic system where (in the US) bribes are “speech” and corporations are people unavoidably leads to things like this project getting neutered. “The invisible hand” Adam Smith refers to are the unintended consequences from merchants’ want to keep their capital: increasing the domestic capital stock and enhancing military power for the state, i.e. protectionism etc. More broadly and lately it refers to any unintended societal consequences from the free market. Consequently it never means “finding a good price” which 99% of everyone using the term seems to believe.
- Arson9416 3y agoBribery exists in every economic system, even before economic systems existed, and is not uniquely connected to the free market. Nor are they connected to "unintended societal consequences", since bribes very clearly have a specific goal. So it doesn't make any sense.
- karaterobot 3y agoJust wanted to say that you're completely correct and making a very reasonable statement which is not controversial. I would love to hear about an economic system in which bribery did not exist or have influence, but I have not seen any examples of that yet, in the present day or in history. I don't agree that bribes can't have unintended social consequences. They do have specific goals, yes. But some unintended consequences of bribery would be things like discouraging honest participants, or encouraging the most corrupt people (rather than the best, on merit) to place themselves in positions of authority, so as to get bribes. All of these are unintended in the sense that neither the person giving the bribe nor the person taking the bribe are trying to bring them about per se, they're only thinking about the immediate consequences (I get what I want).
- 3y ago
- isk517 3y agoPlease pay no attention to the hand behind the curtain.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]