tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post2634215792151001835..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: 5-21-16 HodgepodgeGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-69670809604398466802016-05-21T16:52:38.351-06:002016-05-21T16:52:38.351-06:00C.,
I'd heard of the term, "physics envy...C.,<br /><br />I'd heard of the term, "physics envy" before, but had forgotten it. It is indeed quite similar.<br /><br />And I'd have to agree that "active-evil" is likely a correct description of much anti-"sweatshop" animus.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-41515394181362057392016-05-21T14:57:01.513-06:002016-05-21T14:57:01.513-06:00Hi Gus,
A related term, coined by Philip Mirowski,...Hi Gus,<br />A related term, coined by Philip Mirowski, and used in his 1989 book <i>More Heat Than Light</i>, is <b>physics envy</b>.<br /><br />It was his label for economists who are envious of physicists and therefore attempt to import the concepts and methods of physics into a discipline for which they were not designed and are invalid. Both Mises and Hayek and Austrians all the way back to Menger, railed against this tendency but the term itself is of fairly recent vintage. <br /><br />Watkins and Brook, in their latest book <i>Equal is Unfair</i> point out the opposite effects of leftist non-evasion; what the military would characterize as 'active-stupid'. <br /><br /><i>“U.S. senator Tom Harkin proposed banning imports from countries that employed children in sweatshops. In response a factory in Bangladesh laid off 50,000 children. What was their next best alternative? According to the British charity Oxfam, a large number of them became prostitutes.”<br /><br />(See http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2008/Powellsweatshops.html for additional references)<br /><br />Watkins, Don; Brook, Yaron. Equal Is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality (p. 64). St. Martin's Press. Kindle Edition. </i><br /><br />I remember reading <i>the Economist</i> during the Kathie Lee Gifford Sweatshop Flap. They pointed out the same outcomes to that particular instance of Leftist 'active-stupid' as does OxFam, above. <br /><br />On reflection, I think that the military term is probably too kind to the Leftist. I believe that 'Active-Evil' is more appropriate. One can no longer, in justice, extend the term 'Unintended Consequences' to actions that have been demonstrated, time and again, to have the same evil outcomes. Nor will I grant them the insanity defense (if insanity is to be defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results). <br /><br />At a certain point it becomes obvious that mistakes of this magnitude are not made innocently.<br /><br />c. andrewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com