[ExI] Belief in Market Efficiency.

[Damien Broderick]

At 01:36 PM 1/31/2009 -0500, John K Clark wrote:

>>It is more often pointed out that a regulated market
>>does not work as well as an infinitely wise unregulated market that 
>>always makes brilliant and moral decisions.
>
>Most free market people I know have some sense and don't claim it 
>always does the right thing, they just claim it is more likely to do 
>so than a bunch of political hacks.

John, most people I know who are mistrustful of the ideology of "free 
efficient markets" (a great idea in the abstract, not so much in 
Enron or Madoff practice) also have some sense, and seldom proclaim 
as an alternative some mythical "infinitely wise leader who always 
made brilliant and moral decisions" (Mugabe, perhaps?). Yes, there 
are political hacks, obviously--but other kinds of hacks as well, and 
worse. The world is replete with crooks, rule-bound idiots, scammers, 
manipulators, cardsharps, rogues, liars, thugs, hitmen for hire, 
dupes, the imprudent, the lazy, the self-sickening obese, the 
spendthrift, the deluded theorists, the short-sighted, the 
racketeers... It's a wonder the world's economies are not spinning 
down into ruin. Oh, wait.

Damien Broderick