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The idea that markets are the best way to solve social problems or distribute scarce resources must be one of the most thoroughly exploded propositions in the history of social thought. Proponents of this notion have accumulated quite a list of qualifiers and exceptions: asymmetric information, market failures, natural monopolies, externalities, imperfect competition, irrationality, public goods, time inconsistency, and principal-agent problems, just to name a few. The empirical record is even worse. We are now more than 40 years into a global process of generating more markets in more things, including healthcare, childcare, education, housing, energy, and retirement. The results are unambiguous: The great expansion of the marketplace, and the long process of privatization and liberalization needed to achieve it, has led to a world that is more expensive, […]
Another excellent article. It should be evident to those who observe that our current technological structure is fundamentally unsustainable due to our over-reliance upon electricity. There are major sectors such as healthcare which cannot be maintained at all in their current forms and a strategy to integrate AI will doom the system faster. Most do not realize the amount of power and water these AI systems require. As our current draw down is beyond the carrying capacity the addition of these technological tools drives the system to a breaking point that much faster. All of us will need to accommodate to a lower standard of living. We won’t return to the middle ages; however, our current extravagance is driving us to extinction.