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Pithlord
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1 week ago
in Is Poverty a Violation of Human Rights? on Will Wilkinson
How can "got what was coming to him" be interpreted in a strictly positive/descriptive sense? It is either nonsense or your first sentence is wrong.
1 reply
TGGP
The second paragraph assumes for the sake of argument that there are rights.
2 weeks ago
in Signaling and Solidarity on Will Wilkinson
This "signalling" thing is a little too easy. Aren't you just signalling what a wonderfully independent-minded contrarian you are. The band was cool before all the posers started listening to them.
1 reply
Will Wilkinson
Sure. Maybe I'm signaling that I'm wonderfully independent-minded or something. But I'm actually making a claim. That there is no clear upside to these signals of solidarity, except to those impressed with each other for making them, and that there is a subtle, potentially dangerous downside. That's not JUST showboating, but an actual claim I believe to be true.
2 months ago
in Making a Virtue of Altruism on Will Wilkinson
This isn't useful at all. It replaces an oversimplified view of human nature (people are selfish) with a content-less tautology (people's revealed preferences show they do what they do).
1 reply
mk
First, it's not entirely a tautology to say that a human's behavior is reducible to a computational process. That's more or less what this is saying. Humans can be simulated as actors that quantitatively weigh options.
Second, revealed preference is a red herring. It is perfectly reasonable to have a research program which says "I don't really care what preferences are, all I care about is the accuracy of my model's predictions of observed behavior."
Third, simulation is a good thing, not "tautological." Once you can simulate humans you can predict the impact of various policies/actions. If you can simulate their happiness you can predict which policies or actions will make people happiest.
The name of the game is simulation and making good predictions. Enriching the "homo economicus" actor to create a higher-fidelity simulation can only be a good thing.
Of course sometimes you get good enough simulation with a low-fidelity homo-economicus. In such cases "simulation" degenerates into solving some simple linear equation (demand/supply, etc.).
So the goodness of different varieties of homo economicus is entirely a question of how appropriately they tradeoff between simplicity and accuracy, for the purposes of a particular analysis.
Second, revealed preference is a red herring. It is perfectly reasonable to have a research program which says "I don't really care what preferences are, all I care about is the accuracy of my model's predictions of observed behavior."
Third, simulation is a good thing, not "tautological." Once you can simulate humans you can predict the impact of various policies/actions. If you can simulate their happiness you can predict which policies or actions will make people happiest.
The name of the game is simulation and making good predictions. Enriching the "homo economicus" actor to create a higher-fidelity simulation can only be a good thing.
Of course sometimes you get good enough simulation with a low-fidelity homo-economicus. In such cases "simulation" degenerates into solving some simple linear equation (demand/supply, etc.).
So the goodness of different varieties of homo economicus is entirely a question of how appropriately they tradeoff between simplicity and accuracy, for the purposes of a particular analysis.
3 months ago
in Are We Flirting with Fascism? on Will Wilkinson
I guess I'm a pragmatist about the use of concepts, if nothing else. What possible gain is there to calling this kind of thing "fascist"? It just means that people will look at you like the crazy guy at the bus stop muttering about the anti-christ. Arguments against the auto bailout that might actually persuade someone are not that hard to come up with. Does the Cato Institute feel some great need for further marginalization?
1 reply
odograph
I don't think any President could avoid a "bailout" of GM, even if it was just letting them down softly. The disorganized collapse of the company would be political death for that President and his party.
3 months ago
in Why Climate Alarmism Alarms Me on Will Wilkinson
But isn't it better to leave figuring that out to the market? Are you insisting that demand for coal is infinitely inelastic over both the short and long run?
1 reply
uknowbetter
What market? Creating a magical tax has little to do with natural markets.
4 months ago
in Whatever Disagreements I May Have With Jonah… on Will Wilkinson
In Canada, a bank that forecloses on a mortgage thereby forgives the debt (the "personal covenant"). I'm not familiar with American law, and I assume it may vary state-by-state. But if that's the case, there is no reason why a person walking away from a house that was underwater would jeopardize thier credit rating.
1 reply
GilM
I'm no expert, but I know I've read that it haunts your credit for seven years.
I also know that there are services that claim to be able to have such items removed.
Maybe somebody else knows how cheaply, easily and reliably this can be done.
In any case, there's a cost worth weighing in the calculation.
I also know that there are services that claim to be able to have such items removed.
Maybe somebody else knows how cheaply, easily and reliably this can be done.
In any case, there's a cost worth weighing in the calculation.
4 months ago
in The Hope and Horror of Liberaltarian Alignments on Will Wilkinson
I don't entirely understand this whole debate. Will isn't particularly interested in dirty, non-theoretical politics anyway, and no political operator cares how libertarinas vote, since they would be outnumbered by people who make balloting errors. So what is the significance of this discussion?
1 reply
Will Wilkinson
Hey, It's these other guys who are trying to make this politically relevant! I just want a solid political philosophy and a sweet social network. Then, what happens happens. (Probably a mild shift in the parameters in left and right, at best. At worst, book parties!)
