4 ms·
No, it's not a law in the same way as physical laws. Most of the failures in economics of the past 50 years can be mostly directly attributed to a fatal overcom
by uoaei 4mo ago
No, it's not a law in the same way as physical laws. Most of the failures in economics of the past 50 years can be mostly directly attributed to a fatal overcommitment to the belief that these attributed relations are incontrivertible.
What really exists, closest to the limit we will call "hard science" or "physics", is the microcosmic focus on individuals interacting in a market. Everything else -- supply and demand as a theory definitely included -- is a statistical extrapolation from micro-scale interactions. Hence the label of "dismal science". It's dismal because every hardline assumption is inevitably contravened by real life physics.
- danaris 4mo agoNo, no, see, of course it's a law! Now, I'll explain it to you: First, assume a spherical economy in a frictionless vacuum... (/s)
- henrycrutcher 4mo agoTechnically, the earth is a spherical economy in a frictionless vacuum
- WalterBright 4mo agoYah, I'm old and I've heard that joke my entire life.
- danaris 4mo agoAnd yet, you still think that Econ 101 is as far as those courses go...perhaps it's true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
- WalterBright 4mo agoThe supply and demand curves are different for every person and every business. That makes it complicated - but not wrong.
- uoaei 4mo agoThat's what makes it a model, not a law.
- WalterBright 4mo agoGovernments are perpetually trying to repeal that law. All attempts have failed.
- AlexeyBelov 4mo ago> to repeal that law You've _just_ been told it's not a law.