Post APysnh7D3wTnlZ1Upc by davidmouritsen@masto.ai
 (DIR) More posts by davidmouritsen@masto.ai
 (DIR) Post #APysnfPvNOGGV1lPiy by blair_fix@mastodon.online
       2022-11-24T20:59:16Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic) on economics training and the new open access Core textbook: "How is it possible that a coterie of self-appointed court sorcerers to the world’s governments manage to keep their jobs despite being regularly, predictably, and catastrophically wrong?"Answer: indoctrinationhttps://capitalaspower.com/2022/11/at-last-a-new-econ-101-textbook/
       
 (DIR) Post #APysnfwtOodI9HBk6y by bradweed@mastodon.social
       2022-11-25T16:48:25Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @blair_fix @pluralistic “Overall, the message of these texts is ‘the economy is about interactions in competitive markets (a positive statement) that function pretty well (a normative one) and in which governments ought not to meddle.’”The irony is Adam Smith was very clear that government indeed should meddle. And as a moral philosopher, he’d be astonished his name is attached to such widespread income inequality.
       
 (DIR) Post #APysngYT96gs1olkgK by kims@mas.to
       2022-11-25T19:06:23Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @bradweed @blair_fix @pluralistic I wish fewer people would quote Wealth of Nations and more people would read The Theory of Moral Sentiments."We're supposed to worship Adam Smith but you're not supposed to read him. That's too dangerous. He's a dangerous radical."-- Noam Chomsky
       
 (DIR) Post #APysnh7D3wTnlZ1Upc by davidmouritsen@masto.ai
       2022-11-25T19:19:22Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @kims @bradweed @blair_fix @pluralistic I wish more people read The Wealth of Nations, in addition to The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The thunderous conclusion to Book I, for example, makes it amply clear how badly his name is misused. Smith would be appalled.
       
 (DIR) Post #APysnhWjX2td2ixscC by bradweed@mastodon.social
       2022-11-25T18:44:00Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @blair_fix @pluralistic I dug into the life and beliefs of Adam Smith a bit in my most recent essay…https://interplace.io/p/is-the-invisible-hand-pushing-a-smith
       
 (DIR) Post #APysnhXnT5kN61SjGy by dylanmorgan@mas.to
       2022-11-26T01:00:47Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @davidmouritsen @kims @bradweed @blair_fix @pluralistic you mean Adam “rents are bad and so are excess profits at the expense of workers” Smith? 100% agree. And anyone citing his name who can’t cite anything other than the invisible hand bit should be publicly mocked and chided.
       
 (DIR) Post #APz5GlgYLhuzmuBVGy by longobord@infosec.exchange
       2022-11-26T03:22:10Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @carolannie Isn't that more or less the gist behind US antitrust law?@dylanmorgan @davidmouritsen @kims @bradweed @blair_fix @pluralistic
       
 (DIR) Post #APz5GmOViH51zEkbmy by davidmouritsen@masto.ai
       2022-11-26T03:54:05Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @longobord @carolannie @dylanmorgan @kims @bradweed @blair_fix @pluralistic The word "monopoly" appears 175 times in The Wealth of Nations -- though Smith uses it essentially as a synonym for restrictions on free trade. However, Smith's concerns were over the suppression of competition and the limitation of choice and quantity of commodities, not just price-fixing -- contrary to the views of Bork, Posner, and the Chicago School, and the shadow they cast over American jurisprudence.