Lynn wrote: > In terms of farm subsidies if a person who supports them is wrong (as we > agree he is) then there is a cost to them.
NO! There is a cost to society as a whole (including the individual) if the majority is wrong about farm subsidies - but the individual has no effect on this majority what so ever. Hence there are no marginal costs from being totally in the dark about the effect of farm subsidies. This is the essence of rational irrationality: that it is in fact rational, because it is costless (at the margin, to the individual). This distinguishes rational irrationality from outright (or irrational) irrationality(e.g. believing you can fly, when you are working on the roof of a tall building). Note that it may be rational irrationality to believe you can fly if you live in a cave and never venture out, since your belief is never confronted with reality. This is in fact how rational irrationality may be "caught out" most easily: when people are confronted with a non- costless experiment involving their belief in question (religious soldiers confident of the honour - and afterlife reward - of dying in battle actually facing an enemy shooting at them; or a religious man believing in eternal damnation for fornication actually meeting a model willing to have sex with him)) The above is based on explanations and examples taken from Bryan's work on the subject (to be found on his website). Any misinterpretations are of course mine. yours jacob braestrup
