tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post7998858361956739338..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Steel Manning a Suboptimal ArgumentGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-40256539340508859432019-04-03T04:38:48.108-06:002019-04-03T04:38:48.108-06:00Thanks for making these points, Kyle.
I'll ad...Thanks for making these points, Kyle.<br /><br />I'll add that these problems partially overlap with the related problem of central planning <a href="http://gusvanhorn.blogspot.com/2013/05/government-isnt-omniscient.html" rel="nofollow">taking thinking and knowledge <b>out</b></a> of an economy.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-70879553132949557932019-04-02T16:09:36.711-06:002019-04-02T16:09:36.711-06:00The limited scalability of socialism may be connec...The limited scalability of socialism may be connected to the Dunbar Limit. This is a cognitive limit on the number of close social bonds a person can maintain, which is typically no more than a couple of hundred people. Groups of people smaller than the limit can function successfully under a wide range of organizing principles because the people involved have direct knowledge of what the other people are doing, which helps keep everybody accountable. When groups grow significantly larger, such that no single person knows what everybody else is doing, the problem of coordinating activity becomes much more difficult, and systems of organization that seemed to work fine suddenly break down.<br /><br />This is one of the reasons why small businesses often face a crisis when they grow rapidly -- they have managerial practices that don't scale because of the Dunbar Limit.<br /><br />Broadly speaking, I think socialism sometimes seems to 'work' with small, tightly knit groups because of three factors. First, the people involved all value each other, and are therefore motivated to act to support each other. Second, because of this, there is a substantial harmony of interests among the group members. Finally, the small group size means that everybody is aware of what the others are and are not doing, which enables accountability and coordination of action without a price system.<br /><br />When you have much larger groups these factors break down. People don't all value each other because they may not even know of each other's existence. More heterogeneous groups have a greater diversity of values and goals, so there's less of a perceived harmony of concrete interests. It's harder to hold people accountable for the consequences of their actions, and it's harder to coordinate with others when you don't know what they're doing. The formal institutions of a free society are designed to solve these kinds of problems at scale.Kyle Haightnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-78839669272378678492019-04-02T09:12:47.376-06:002019-04-02T09:12:47.376-06:00Steve,
"[W]hat does that say about the natur...Steve,<br /><br />"<i>[W]hat does that say about the nature of human beings? ... [T]hat also leaves the opposite question: why does socialism sometimes (but not always) works with smaller and more tightknit groups?</i>"<br /><br />Good points. In fact, IIRC, Ayn Rand may have said that a tiny (and perhaps also primitive) economy can be run -- non-disastrously or some adjective like that -- communally or top-down. I'm looking for the exact quote the next time I have a chance.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-33693835389879686062019-04-02T08:40:08.538-06:002019-04-02T08:40:08.538-06:00It was an interesting article although I find it f...It was an interesting article although I find it frustrating that the author, like many others, didn't go one step further and ask the burning (and obvious) next question: If socialism isn't scalable and only works in smaller groups; what does that say about the nature of human beings? There is plenty of relevant psychological and sociological research he could cite. Of course that also leaves the opposite question: why does socialism sometimes (but not always) works with smaller and more tightknit groups. <br /><br />BTW, I like the tactic of steel manning (or even just chasing the best of your opponent's stated arguments). Too often these days, after reading an article, I'm given a devastating case against a weaker argument in which the main point or better arguments was glossed over or completely ignored. In these cases the whole article would seem to be a waste of time. SteveDnoreply@blogger.com