In a post at his blog globalinequality today, Branko Milanovic claims that “Robotics leads us to face squarely three fallacies.” He then proceeds to “debunk” technological unemployment, satiation of human needs and the environmental carrying capacity of the earth. He concludes his post with the assurance that “history teaches us” we have nothing to fear […]
‘I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.’ Perusing Palgrave’s Dictionary of Political Economy from 1894 alerted me to the odd interaction of a pair of distinctions. The first distinction was between the study of “what is” and “what ought to be.” The second distinction was between “economic science” (or “economics”) and “political economy.” Economic science presumably […]
I should like to show that Jonathan Portes most probably did not cause Brexit. To do so, however, I first must examine the plausibility of the case that his actions and words did indeed provoke a decisive margin for the Leave vote in the EU referendum last June. Portes is Principal Research Fellow, formerly Director, […]
“…it is often said that to regulate the hours of labour, or to introduce differential import duties, is to break economic law.” — Palgrave’s Dictionary of Political Economy, 1894 Do you agree that regulating the hours of labor is a violation of economic law?
I always Google my headline ideas to try to avoid the appearance of plagiarism. I was thinking of the title for this post as I was looking at a cartoon adaptation of Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, originally published by Look magazine in 1945 and subsequently distributed in the 1950s as a pamphlet by the General Motors […]
In Doctor Strangelove, General Ripper explains to Captain Mandrake why Clemenceau’s dictum on war is now obsolete: He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither […]
Convenient mea culpas appear to be part of the job description of the elusive Meredith McIver.
“It was a little cocker spaniel dog… and our little girl—Tricia, the 6-year-old—named it Checkers.”
An open letter to John Cochrane and Jennifer Rubin Dear John Cochrane and Jennifer Rubin, I read with interest your column, Jennifer, which led me to your chapter, John, in Blueprint for America on trade and immigration. I have studied the history of the lump-of-labor fallacy claim for nearly 20 years and have have published several […]
As the derisive name suggests, it’s an idea economists view with contempt, yet the fallacy makes a comeback whenever the economy is sluggish. — Paul Krugman Isabel V. Sawhill (Brookings): “Time for a shorter work week?“ Dean Baker: “Shorter Workweeks Will Defeat the Robots“ Eva Swidler: “Radical Leisure“ Ilana E. Strauss: “Would a Work-Free World Be […]