Comment on Saving the World - Progress Report

Sat, 02 Aug 2014 10:51:26 GMT

Despite his usual rudeness ("Because he's Salemicus"? Really?), the link gwern provides goes some way to explaining my views on the subject. On many margins we recycle too much. Unfortunately, where I live this is made worse by the government, because the local council charges you more for rubbish collection if you don't recycle as much as they deem proper. However, because I care about the environment and future generations, I am willing to incur that cost in order to help society on the margin.

Note incidentally that this is typical of government intervention; in the textbooks they adjust prices to correct market failures based on some miraculous, a priori knowledge of the"true social costs." In reality, they intervene in purely private transactions and break functioning markets based not on any considered measurement of alleged externalities, but just the free-standing moralising of self important do-gooders, no doubt aided by cynical rent-seekers.

Which brings me back nicely that saying you want to save the world sets off my alarm bells.

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