Monday, October 9, 2017

The Nobel Prize Committee Has Gone Over to the Dark Side (Economics Award)



The only Nobel laureate in economics to ever deserve worldwide recognition was Friedrich Hayek. The man was brilliant. He taught us much about the complex world, about signals in society (price signals and others) and he warned about the fatal conceit of those who believe a complex world can be centrally planned.

No other Nobel winning economists come close to his achievements. Most of the others are esoteric technocrats that will have no significant impact on economic policy or thinking.

It should be remembered that even Nobel laureate Milton Friedman was terrible when it came to methodology and monetary policy. And when it came to applied economics the bastard helped create the tax withholding system.

But this year, the Nobel committee has outdone itself in making a horrific choice, Richard Thaler. It has truly gone to the dark side.

Thaler, quite simply, is a technocratic, central planning, creep, who
has created models that allow governments to coerce us in many sick and hidden ways.

Or as the Nobel committee put it:
Richard Thaler's contributions have built a bridge between the economic and psychological analyses of individual decision-making. His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating the new and rapidly expanding field of behavioural economics, which has had a profound impact on many areas of economic research and policy.
Here are some comments I have made about Thaler here in the past at EPJ.

February 17, 2016:
Given Thaler's overall bent to manipulate the masses through "nudges," it is no surprise that he would come out in favor of Larry Summers call to ban the $100 bill. It's all about transferring power and control to government.
August 23, 2010:
Sunstein and Thaler promote the idea that government shouldn't force people to do things, just "nudge" them in that direction, by making it difficult to choose the opposite.
Let me be clear. Thaler never puts among his "nudges" a freedom nudge or a leave me the hell alone nudge. He sets up coercive choices then nudges you to the one option desired by the government technocrats.

The Nobel Prize in economics has hit a new low.

  -RW



5 comments:

  1. Agreed completely. Thaler is a creep of the first order. But calling Friedman a "bastard" is over the top. Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom" and "Free to Choose" reached more people with free market ideas than anyone else in the last 50 years. And he was the most powerful force in the acadamy with arguments against the evil draft. Perfect? Of course not. But certainly not a bastard, Robert.

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  2. A new low? I disagree, Krugman was the lowest of all.

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  3. Sunstein and Thaler are evil pure and simple. And do not forget who Sunstein is married to. It may explain a few things.

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  4. The whole economics "discipline" has always been a fraud. Thaler is the latest example.
    https://therulingclassobserver.com/2017/10/15/down-the-rabbit-hole-with-capitalist-rationality/

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  5. Completely agree. This weasel is more deserving of a different fate than to be awarded a Nobel Prize.

    In fact, the Nobel Prize has been on a downward spiral for many years. Hayek's award was the peak. The original valley was when Paul Samuelson was given the award. The valley on this side of Hayek was when another Paul (Krugman) was given the award in this century. Not to mention other winners of the Prize in other categories.

    Crass Cass Sunnstein must be rejoicing. Someone that has articulated his moronic views has been validated.

    In truth, he was validated as a fool.

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