Dean Landolt

Going way back to 1946, from Economics In One Lesson…

Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would be great enough in any case, but they are multiplied a thousandfold by a factor that is insignificant in, say, physics, mathematics or medicine-the special pleading of selfish interests. While every group has certain economic interests identical with those of all groups, every group has also, as we shall see, interests antagonistic to those of all other groups. While certain public policies would in the long run benefit everybody, other policies would benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The group that would benefit by such policies, having such a direct interest in them, will argue for them plausibly and persistently. It will hire the best buyable minds to devote their whole time to presenting its case. And it will finally either convince the general public that its case is sound, or so befuddle it that clear thinking on the subject becomes next to impossible.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always fully bought into the concept of enlightened self-interest — even way the hell before I knew what that meant. I never made a distinction between individuals working toward whatever rewards they could muster and groups moving to push forward an agenda at the (apparent) behest of self-interested individuals…

Thanks to industry groups like the RIAA, MPAA, BSA, ad infinitum, the difference is stark; my ignorance to it tragic. How do paid shills and fudged studies help any of us “do well by doing good?”

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This entry was posted Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 10:58 am and is filed under Economics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.