...Behavioral science — especially the burgeoning field of behavioral economics that has been popularized by Freakonomics, The Wisdom of Crowds, Predictably Irrational, Nudge and Animal Spirits, which is the new must-read in Obamaworld — is already shaping dozens of Administration policies. "It really applies to all the big areas where we need change," says Obama budget director Peter Orszag...
Irrationality versus Naivete
Robert Shiller's Irrational Exuberance is probably one of the best and most important works of the past quarter-century -- in economics or in any other field. In contrast I found his new book Animal Spirits (written with George Akelrof) to be somewhat hastily put-together and certainly less persuasive. Nevertheless, Richard Posner's critique of the latter work -- and by extension, the discipline of behavioral economics -- strikes me as rather shallow...
P/E ratios... market... housing bubble... price-to-rent ratios... Shiller, Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini, Dean Baker, just to cite a few -- were calling the housing bubble well in advance... why the optimistic experts tended to be listened to by the markets while the pessimistic ones weren't. And here, I think behavioral and institutional explanations must play a role, including things like optimism bias and status quo bias...
The fantasy... of the artist anonymously intervening in public life like a benign terrorist, unsettling collective complacency and inspiring new, critically perceptive thoughts about how the world works... prompting epiphanies about possible alternative social realities.. incite criticism of, and resistance to, the so-called dominant culture... Every day we are swamped with images and ideas that pretend to confound conventional thinking. That’s popular culture...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/
Joseph Stiglitz: "...It’s not the conspiracies that wreck the world but the series of wrong turns, failed policies, and little and big unfairnesses that add up. Still, those decisions are guided by larger mind-sets. Market fundamentalists never really appreciated the institutions required to make an economy function well, let alone the broader social fabric that civilizations require to prosper and flourish. Klein ends on a hopeful note, describing nongovernmental organizations and activists around the world who are trying to make a difference. After 500 pages of “The Shock Doctrine,” it’s clear they have their work cut out for them."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0684853779/theatlanticmonthA/ref=nosim/
[David] Brooks' concept of Bobos (Bourgeois Bohemians) is fascinating and at times his observations sparkle, but he is utterly unconvincing when he argues that Bohemian values "rule" in America today. Clearly, Brooks is aware of the view that Bohemian values have been coopted by the corporate establishment and used as a marketing vehicle; but he makes little effort to explain why he rejects this view for one that exalts the supposed power of people who are too easily stereotyped for eating granola and wearing Birkenstocks...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/
Joseph Stiglitz: "...It’s not the conspiracies that wreck the world but the series of wrong turns, failed policies, and little and big unfairnesses that add up. Still, those decisions are guided by larger mind-sets. Market fundamentalists never really appreciated the institutions required to make an economy function well, let alone the broader social fabric that civilizations require to prosper and flourish. Klein ends on a hopeful note, describing nongovernmental organizations and activists around the world who are trying to make a difference. After 500 pages of “The Shock Doctrine,” it’s clear they have their work cut out for them."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/
[David] Brooks' concept of Bobos (Bourgeois Bohemians) is fascinating and at times his observations sparkle, but he is utterly unconvincing when he argues that Bohemian values "rule" in America today. Clearly, Brooks is aware of the view that Bohemian values have been coopted by the corporate establishment and used as a marketing vehicle; but he makes little effort to explain why he rejects this view for one that exalts the supposed power of people who are too easily stereotyped for eating granola and wearing Birkenstocks...
Irrationality versus Naivete
Richard Posner's critique of the latter work -- and by extension, the discipline of behavioral economics -- strikes me as rather shallow... Where Posner's critique is more successful is in questioning what specific policy prescriptions should follow if Shiller's thesis are correct; this too was something that I found somewhat wanting in Animal Spirits. Ultimately, the implications may be more pedagogical than political: we need to encourage individuals to engage in a certain amount of de-programming, and to question the world around them at every stage of their lives, including both the judgment of experts and their own assumptions and thought processes. But this conclusion may be uncomfortable for a lot of people, possibly including Posner.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081229/examinedlife_video
Examined Life opens February 25... the film's official website. Filmmaker Astra Taylor explores Cornel West and Peter Singer's thoughts on the importance of an "examined life" at this particular historic moment. West explains that the "Socratic imperative of questioning yourself requires courage... It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield." Singer connects this idea to America's consumer culture, questioning the moral implications of spending when so many are in need.
Examined Life opens February 25... the film's official website. Filmmaker Astra Taylor explores Cornel West and Peter Singer's thoughts on the importance of an "examined life" at this particular historic moment. West explains that the "Socratic imperative of questioning yourself requires courage... It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield." Singer connects this idea to America's consumer culture, questioning the moral implications of spending when so many are in need.
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i27/27b00601.htm
Singer: "...I draw a parallel with a situation in which you come across a small child who has fallen into a pond and is in danger of drowning... I do not think we can justify our sharply differing moral judgments... If I am correct, the vast majority of us who live in developed nations are not living an even minimally decent ethical life..."
Singer: "...I draw a parallel with a situation in which you come across a small child who has fallen into a pond and is in danger of drowning... I do not think we can justify our sharply differing moral judgments... If I am correct, the vast majority of us who live in developed nations are not living an even minimally decent ethical life..."
http://timidscholar.wordpress.
Disinclined to 'De-Program': "The push is on. Peter Singer’s new book on how selfish you are has hit the shelves..."
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