tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post8359845693084357160..comments2024-03-19T07:10:27.303-07:00Comments on Quark Soup by David Appell: Back and ForthDavid Appellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03318269033139447591noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-88651653862834038512010-11-03T10:45:15.506-07:002010-11-03T10:45:15.506-07:00The problem is buying into that idea that progress...The problem is buying into that idea that progress is linear and always, well, progressive. There is no good reason why we should have an easier life than our parents, or our kids have it better than us. Things were better before the Great Depression than during it. You think that generation didn't feel cheated? It just is what it is. The people promising to make your life easier are trading on your natural desire to have an easier life. Life is pain, to quote a dread pirate, anyone who says differently is selling something. This is also a very Western pov, because clearly, most of the world realizes that things don't get "better" per se, they just "are" and you make do with what you get.You can call me Elle.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15311886329852940342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-52945840176442639562010-11-03T06:15:33.101-07:002010-11-03T06:15:33.101-07:00I'm an optimist.
If you're twenty and not...I'm an optimist.<br /><br />If you're twenty and not a leftist, you have no heart. If you're forty and not a conservative, you have no brains.<br /><br />Everybody grows, pretty much.<br /><br />Figuring it out ought to be interesting for a science type, is my theory.<br /><br />The <i>early</i> Mike Munger podcasts at <a href="http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/mike_munger/" rel="nofollow">econtalk.org</a> are entertaining. Try the fair trade coffee one.<br /><br />They have a similar optimism, that if it's expressed in the right way, anybody can understand that economic perverse consequences are built in, and are willing to put in some time on it.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-2823151791007484962010-11-03T03:28:46.465-07:002010-11-03T03:28:46.465-07:00> The popular press says populist
> economi...> The popular press says populist <br />> economics works because that <br />> narrative brings in eyeballs to <br />> sell to advertisers<br /><br />Yet more profundity, which seems out of place for a blog.<br /><br />Is this really the best use of your time? Shouldn't you be writing ground-breaking papers, or setting governments straight all across the globe? <br /><br />Your obvious talents seem so wasted here.David Appellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03318269033139447591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-26232978504572522112010-11-03T02:58:55.983-07:002010-11-03T02:58:55.983-07:00Populist economics doesn't work.
The electora...Populist economics doesn't work.<br /><br />The electorate discovers that after trying it.<br /><br />The popular press says populist economics works because that narrative brings in eyeballs to sell to advertisers.<br /><br />So every other election we go with the populists.<br /><br />Government spending is the villain because it's mostly maldirected and an increasing portion of the economy, if you want the economic malady.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.com