On: Morality, Culture and Tribalism.

Episode: N/A

Date: July 2018

Background: Economist.

Key Subjects:

• Limitations of economics by assuming that human actors are rational, utility maximizing agents.
  • Economics: the science of maximizing wellbeing in a world of self-interests and scarce resources.
  • Problems in economics:
    • Aggregating individual preferences.
      • Something is lost.
    • Using “ceteris paribus” .
      • Making the assumption that everything else is constant.
      • Becomes an issue when one of the factors held constant is culture.
      • Holding human nature (or the sum of it) constant is troublesome.
      • Also, very few data points across time are constant – this muddles the discussion.
    • Compounding versus aggregation.
      • Compounding works out for everyone in the long run.
      • Necessitates aggregation which is sub-optimal in the short run.

Key Takeaways:

• The tension between long-term compounding (ultimately, the boat rises for everyone) and short-term aggregation (in the short run, some are better off than others).

Worth Listening:

6/10