Tag Archives: economics

The Price Of Glee In China

[Epistemic status: Overly simplistic treatment of a horrifyingly complex topic; I can only hope I haven’t missed enough to completely embarrass myself] I. Noah Smith reviews recent economic research suggesting that globalization was a net harm to working class people … Continue reading

Non-Dual Awareness

Seen on Lauren’s Facebook: How Does Academia Resemble A Drug Gang? Their answer is that both academia and drug gangs are marked by an endless supply of foot soldiers willing to work in terrible conditions for a small chance at … Continue reading

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Book Review: A Future For Socialism

A boot, stamping on a human face – forever! No! Wait! Sorry! Wrong future for socialism! This is John Roemer’s A Future for Socialism, a book on how to build a kinder, gentler socialist economy. It argues for – and … Continue reading

Book Review: Red Plenty

I. I decided to read Red Plenty because my biggest gripe after reading Singer’s book on Marx was that Marx refused to plan how communism would actually work, instead preferring to leave the entire matter for the World-Spirit to sort … Continue reading

No Skyscraper Stagnation

Since we’re on the subject of whether technological progress has stagnated, I thought I’d address an issue that always seems to come up sooner or later. Is there a decline in American skyscrapers possibly indicating a decline in American civilization? … Continue reading

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Ozy vs. Scott on Charity Baskets

I have invited Ozy to post to Slate Star Codex. I ended up disagreeing with their first post, so I’m going to include it along with my rebuttal. Ozy: A man goes up to a stockbroker and says, “You guys … Continue reading

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Invisible Women

[EDIT: Two readers – Pseudo-Erasmus and Noah Smith – have chimed in with very plausible explanations centering around labor force participation and productivity. See also my Mistakes page.] A commenter asked in yesterday’s discussion on The Two-Income Trap: why did … Continue reading

Book Review: The Two-Income Trap

A long time ago I wrote a kinda-tongue-in-cheek defense of keeping modafinil – a relatively safe and effective stimulant – illegal. My argument was that if everybody can use stimulants to work harder and sleep less without side effects, then … Continue reading

Money On The Ground

I hear the following joke far too often: Economist 1: Look, there’s $20 on the ground! Economist 2: No there isn’t. If there were, someone would have picked it up already. It annoys me because it makes fun of a … Continue reading

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Compound Interest Is The Least Powerful Force In The Universe

I. I’m still iffy on Vox. Some of its reporting is excellent – their article on Governor Cuomo and the shift away from progressivism in the Democratic Party was especially enlightening. Other parts, especially the editorials, are atrocious and utterly … Continue reading