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75 sats \ 4 replies \ @SimpleStacker 31 Jul \ parent \ on: Paul Krugman Blasts Trump, Vance for Backing Bitcoin - Decrypt econ
Unfortunately I have to strenuously object to the idea that economists care more about profits than society's well-being--at least, no more so than any other profession.
It's a misconception that has allowed great foolishness to be perpetrated. Most recently, during the pandemic. A lot of the people warning about lockdowns early on were health economists like Jay Battarachaya but they were ignored because "they cared more about money than people's lives." I literally had someone tell me this to my face when I warned about overreacting to Covid, and that the data was showing it was only dangerous for a subset of the population.
Economics has long been known as the "dismal science" and therefore unpopular with utopians because we're always pointing out tradeoffs. As Thomas Sowell says: "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs."
That quote wasn't about economists. In fact I agree with you completely. That was a quote from the Nobel family criticizing the Swiss bank who took the Nobel name in order to set up an ersatz (@cryotosensei) award that really wasn't a Nobel prize.
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Interesting. Thanks for the context
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Thanks for using my newly learnt word in context!
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Alfred Nobel created dynamite, he was a chemist.
He and his family owned an arms manufacturer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors
Economics is the study of human behavior (how do we optimize utility).
Business is the pursuit of profits.
Too many idiots conflate economics with business or wall street. I support both endeavors. Money may not be a noble objective but it's cleaner than most
Too many idiots conflate economics with business or wall street. I support both endeavors. Money may not be a noble objective but it's cleaner than most
Stop the presses, Nobel uttered comments that were anti-semitic
Nobel has also been criticized for displays of antisemitism. In his letters to Hess, he wrote "In my experience, Jews never do anything out of good will. They act merely out of selfishness or a desire to show off .... all others exist to be fleeced."
At least he wasn't blind or clueless
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