Exploding the Myths of Neoclassical Economics
Barry Schwartz in the London Review of Books, writing about Avner Offer's The Challenge of Affluence:
Offer points out how much we care about what he calls 'regard,' how we look to others. Status or regard can be derived from many things: virtues of character, occupation, acts of kindness or charity and of course wealth. In a society in which efforts are concentrated on increasing GDP, and life is oriented toward consumption, wealth becomes an increasingly important yardstick of status, and other things recede into the background. Thus the treadmill: how much wealth is enough? The answer is: more wealth than your neighbours. A rising tide that lifts all boats doesn't change your own relative position; you may be a better car, but you won't get more status. The result is a kind of arms race of wealth acquisition that thrives on inequality but leaves no one better off.
Comments
Thoughtful and thought provoking as usual. I was just listening to a report on NPR this morning which said that the gap between the rich and the poor is widest here in the northeast and is widening more quickly here than elsewhere.
Posted by: Tony | March 23, 2007 09:09 AM
Thanks, Tony. I did know the gap was widening, but didn't know it was greatest here. With all the huge bonuses this year on Wall Street, it shouldn't be a surprise.
My disgust at hearing about a $1000 pizza matches RJ's about the fools befouling their apartment (3/22 :: "My Inner Stalin").
I have always thought that when I get to the pearly gates and St. Peter asks what I have done for the common weal, I will have to answer, "Made rich people richer," the trapdoor under my feet will open and I will suddenly be very warm, indeed. Most traders will be there with me, for a variety of reasons.
What irks me most about the Liar in Chief and his followers is their false piety, making sure they and their kin will always be affluent, while only "caring" for political reasons about the rest of us. It reminds of the line in "The Good Shepherd" when the WASP character says, "We have the United States of America. The rest of you are just visiting."
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March 23, 2007 12:29 PM
We need another FDR. Is there any member of the best upper set who is still imbued with a sense of "noblesse oblige"? If one comes forward it will be a saving miracle, if not an ideal form of democracy...
Posted by: LXIV | March 23, 2007 02:56 PM