I am sternly lectured here by an internet Austrian commenting on my last post that my empirical evidence supporting the statement that many businesses use administered prices is all for naught, because, well, empirical reality does not matter...Social Democracy For The 21St Century: A Post Keynesian Perspective
When Austrians Throw Reality to the Wind
Lord Keynes
See also My Posts Refuting Misesian Apriorism and Praxeology
There are different cognitive (thinking) styles. One is the ideological, which prioritizes ideology over fact and studies have shown that ideologues double down on ideology when presented with contrary evidence. Research also shows a stronger reaction on the part of those who are more educated than those who are less educated. Ideologues are more concerned with theory than outcomes.
Another thinking style is the formal, which prefers mathematical rigor over factual information. Formalists are more concerned with methodology than outcomes.
The first typifies certain Austrian approaches such that of Ludwig von Mises while the second typified neoclassical approaches typical of those who see economics as econometrics.
These are cognitive biases characteristic of different personality types. However, they are also cognitive biases that can affect anyone's thinking as a result of a variety of factors. Thus the importance of acquiring critical thinking skills to identify and eliminate biases to which one may be susceptible.
These are cognitive biases characteristic of different personality types. However, they are also cognitive biases that can affect anyone's thinking as a result of a variety of factors. Thus the importance of acquiring critical thinking skills to identify and eliminate biases to which one may be susceptible.
9 comments:
I think I come down on the 'math' or 'logic' side of this thing here Tom...
iow I look at these people ("morons") making mistakes in 'math and logic' and am outraged... rather than look at the 'social outcomes' and become outraged...
To me, if they were not 'morons' we wouldn't have the terrible social outcomes... so my approach is to first 'fix the morons' and then the social outcomes will take care of themselves...
iow Keynes reportedly said 'take care of the social items and the deficit will take care of itself..." which I view as simply impossible with these morons in there they think we are 'out of money' and 'borrowing from whoever..."
These people just cant see how to do what Keynes suggested here, which is to address the socio-economic issues directly... they have virtually no ability to see that we humans have this direct authority.... they always think we have to "go thru something" before we can do this...
Either metals, 'our grandchildren', 'the chinese', 'bond vigilantes', etc... they come up with all sorts of impediments to direct human action via our institution of civil government... they dont think we can do this...
It comes out of this 'libertarianism' as I term/see it... it is a basic 'anti-authority' view that they have...
rsp,
Matt if they admit the government can do stuff they are admitting their own ideology is a failure because it's basically founded around the idea that there is no other way to coordinate human society than through "free markets".
That people basically hates governments or any civil institution/organisation, they hopped into the 'debt doomsday' bandwagon just because it happens to be something that has the attention of the public. A lot of these guys value the worthiness of people around how much income they have or their bank accounts, that should tell you that much.
Yes, they are illogical, but not because they don't understand math, but because they don't care if the math is right or wrong. Tom has it right with the 'ideological thinking'.
Also an other interesting matter on all this stuff is how the 'identity' of certain individuals in shaped around these world views, so they will struggle to fight for it, because losing the ideological battle would hurt their own 'life work', identity and egos.
As psychologists say, people who are outer-directed based on a belief system are "heavily invested" in their beliefs. Therefore, to protect their investment, they resist change that doesn't conform to their belief system out of fear of losing their investment. In other words if their belief system crumples so does their world. So they will fight to the death to defend their belief structure. It's fanaticism.
Nach/Tom,
I just don't see most if not all Dems (not the least President Obama) and many GOPers to as ideologically opposed to "fairer" or more "equitable" outcomes...
So the issue HAS TO BE one of mathematical cognition with these people...
Unless you are asserting that the President is a psychopath which I can introduce you to many of my friends on the right who would very much like to agree with you....
There are many out there who have the correct ideology (think Bernie Sanders for instance we know how the MMT pitch went over with him it was completely rejected based on incorrect technical interpretation...) they have the correct ideology they simply cannot see how the policy works from a mathematical/technical perspective... (ie my "moron" appeal...)
Look here is an excerpt from the wiki on Protagoras (the guy credited with 'man is the measure of all things'):
" According to Aulus Gellius, he originally made his living as a porter, but one day he was seen by the philosopher Democritus carrying a load of small pieces of wood tied with a short cord. Democritus discovered that Protagoras had tied the load himself with such perfect geometric accuracy that it revealed him to be a mathematic prodigy. He immediately took him into his own household and taught him philosophy."
These people back then knew YOU NEEDED BOTH THE 'MATH' AND THE 'PHILOSOPHY'... the academy was full of only people who could do BOTH...
These morons we have today I'm tellin' ya they dont have the math... and they cant figure out how to get the policy implemented because of this...
You need BOTH...
rsp,
Just having a bunch of people who have high math cognitive ability isnt going to get it done..
Just having a bunch of people with the correct ideology isnt going to get it done either...
You need people who can do BOTH.
rsp,
We humans are obviously NOT 'created equivalent'.
rsp,
To clarify: Was talking about 'Austrians' here.
In the case of 'progressives' both in US and Europe, it's a hopeless case of stupidity ('our grandchildren will have to pay for it').
I don't think it is stupidity on the part of most ordinary people. They are listening to those who are supposed to be experts, and it's the so-called experts that are the one who are either stupid or lying.
Moreover, ordinary people have been brainwashed with neoliberal propaganda to the degree that they think that steel chains are gold bracelets.
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