[ExI] Ignorant fear mongering (was Re: Doomsday Oil Price: (was RIP: Peak Oil))

[Stefano Vaj]

On 27 February 2012 15:58, Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it> wrote:

> The trust in free markets and free competition is not like faith in
> government or gods. The trust in free market is based on the assumption
> that people do what they think good for themselves and, without
> violence, they can not damage others.
>
> Market work "as there is" an Invisible Hand managing them. There is no
> Invisible Hand, but from naive external observers it could appear so.
>

Yes, some as evolution. But evolution *does* involve dead ends.

And similarly, the fact that people do what they think good for themselves
- or even what they are compelled to do lest they be simply eliminated by
competition - does not prevent in the least the fact that the end result
may well be catastrophic, eg, out of "free riders" or "unravelling" effects.

The possibility of such outcomes is entirely consistent with game theory or
with classical economic theory.

The best we can do is to make players to re-assess their priorities so that
their economic behaviour is accordingly altered.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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