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Comments on: ‘Right’ by any other name http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/ The Visible Hand in Economics Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:01:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: A very inconvenient question « The visible hand in economics http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1106 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:01:17 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1106 […] in fact this is a favored measure we have for actually revealing (to some degree) what is optimal (here, here, can’t actually find any of the tax posts […]

]]> By: Reply: What’s the Matter with Utilitarianism « The visible hand in economics http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1105 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:58:48 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1105 […] we have discussed earlier, if we are willing to abstract sufficiently we should be able to place equity and […]

]]> By: Matt Nolan http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1101 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:09:55 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1101 “specifically the idea that society’s interests can trump individual rights”

That depends on the value we associate with each of those factors doesn’t it? Sometime in the next few days I’m going to do a post on that sort of stuff – however I need time, and I currently don’t have any 😛

]]> By: CPW http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1102 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:05:46 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1102 I think the concept of utilitarianism, as usually employed, has a strong normative element – specifically the idea that society’s interests can trump individual rights. Of course utilitarianism doesn’t necessitate that conclusion, but it’s hard to stop it creeping into the analysis.

]]> By: Matt Nolan http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1103 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:38:42 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1103 “Conversely, many economists praise the amoral nature of their discipline”

Were you thinking of me when you said that?

“claiming not to be making a normative statement disingenuous, when we use words like optimal to refer to things that are best within our preference utilitarian philosophical framework”

I thought that was why we separated efficiency and equity (http://tvhe.co.nz/2008/02/29/the-equity-efficiency-trade-off-whats-the-point/).

Things that are technically optimal are just that, optimal – it does not mean that it maximise’s social welfare which is a normative construct. However, as long as we recognise the distinction it is a useful thing to do. Ignoring the distinction is definitely disingenuous – but that isn’t what we do.

In the case of morality the purpose of economic analysis would be to represent the trade-off, not work out what is the socially optimal value of morality. By representing what the trade-off is we bring something to the table which can be used in a broader normative study of the issue.

]]> By: Robin Hanson http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2008/03/19/right-by-any-other-name/#comment-1104 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:54:56 +0000 http://tvhe.co.nz/?p=296#comment-1104 I am suggesting that we just talk about how to get what we want, and explicitly reject otherwise talking about whether what we do is moral.

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