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I suspect the reason that technology and libertarianism go hand and hand are very different from those presented here. People who are technological are general

by araneae 17y ago

I suspect the reason that technology and libertarianism go hand and hand are very different from those presented here. People who are technological are generally more engaged by machines than people, and have less of an appreciation of social norms. They also are more likely to appreciate the Austrian school of economics which is very mathematical in nature, and be less susceptible to emotional appeals in favor of certain policies (i.e. "oh how the poor kittens are starving, let's spend 1 billion on animal shelters this year").

thomaspaine 17y ago
Austrian economics is the antithesis of mathematical economics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School#Analytical_framework http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School#Analytical_fram... Many libertarians latch on to austrian economics because they already agree with the conclusions austrian economists come to, and it's easy for lay people to understand. Conversely, it takes quite a bit more effort to understand a neoclassical dynamic partial equilibrium model.
- araneae 17y ago
  I perhaps should have explained a bit more clearly. The Austrian school relies on mathematical proof, as opposed to experimentation and the resulting analysis with statistics. Yes, statistics is math, but hardly anyone who finds logical rigor psychologically satisfying gets the same enjoyment out of a p-value of .082.
ewjordan 17y ago
They also happen to lack any sense of balance. Most of their arguments can (and should be, if we accept them at all) be taken to the extreme, coming up with conclusions such as 100% tax rates for the poor and 0% for the rich and similar ridiculousness. Of course this is not what the arguers are pushing for, but since they are arguing that things should be changed in a certain direction away from what they are now, they usually don't bother to even consider the counter-balancing factors that would let things settle in to an equilibrium. As the other poster mentioned, the Austrians explicitly reject statistical or modeling methods, and usually argue with words, dressing them up as if they are "pure logic". The problem with arguing with words is that it is far easier to decide your conclusion and then grope towards a justification in words than it is to start with some assumptions and figure out what the conclusion should be. When I read the Austrians, I never get the same feeling of dispassionate honest investigation that I do when I read any other science (or even soft "science", like econ). I just feel like they've always already decided the answer before they started working on the problem, and that rubs me seriously wrong. Not that I think most other economists are much better, to be fair. And the Austrians may be right in some of their claims. But I get the distinct feeling that they are so committed to their conclusions that even if they found evidence against them they would pay it no attention.

by araneae 17y ago

thomaspaine 17y ago

Austrian economics is the antithesis of mathematical economics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School#Analytical_framework http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School#Analytical_fram... Many libertarians latch on to austrian economics because they already agree with the conclusions austrian economists come to, and it's easy for lay people to understand. Conversely, it takes quite a bit more effort to understand a neoclassical dynamic partial equilibrium model.

araneae 17y ago
I perhaps should have explained a bit more clearly. The Austrian school relies on mathematical proof, as opposed to experimentation and the resulting analysis with statistics. Yes, statistics is math, but hardly anyone who finds logical rigor psychologically satisfying gets the same enjoyment out of a p-value of .082.

ewjordan 17y ago

They also happen to lack any sense of balance. Most of their arguments can (and should be, if we accept them at all) be taken to the extreme, coming up with conclusions such as 100% tax rates for the poor and 0% for the rich and similar ridiculousness. Of course this is not what the arguers are pushing for, but since they are arguing that things should be changed in a certain direction away from what they are now, they usually don't bother to even consider the counter-balancing factors that would let things settle in to an equilibrium. As the other poster mentioned, the Austrians explicitly reject statistical or modeling methods, and usually argue with words, dressing them up as if they are "pure logic". The problem with arguing with words is that it is far easier to decide your conclusion and then grope towards a justification in words than it is to start with some assumptions and figure out what the conclusion should be. When I read the Austrians, I never get the same feeling of dispassionate honest investigation that I do when I read any other science (or even soft "science", like econ). I just feel like they've always already decided the answer before they started working on the problem, and that rubs me seriously wrong. Not that I think most other economists are much better, to be fair. And the Austrians may be right in some of their claims. But I get the distinct feeling that they are so committed to their conclusions that even if they found evidence against them they would pay it no attention.