> Don't we have computers that can run simulations and provide answers? Inputs could be population size, current wealth distribution, socialist/capitalist/hybr

> Don't we have computers that can run simulations and provide answers? Inputs could be population size, current wealth distribution, socialist/capitalist/hybrid, tax rate, cultural influence etc. We don't have to be accurate, just directionally correct. Why do we keep playing this game in the real world? Is it because we don't yet have information to model the engine? If you can figure out a good simulation model there will be someone willing to let you run it on a TOP500 supercomputer. People already run these kinds of simulations, but the complexity is beyond the capability of today's computers. Not to mention all the random variables - wars, droughts, earthquakes, political change, technological improvements, etc..., which all affect economies. And of course the information to model it is another problem, because much of it will have to be inferred - what's the probability of a war? What probable effect will technological advances have? Hows the weather going to be this summer? Will there be ice storms this winter? People wonder why so many assumptions are made in economics - it's because some of the variables are simply too unpredictable.