On 4/14/05, JDG <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 02:51 PM 4/13/2005 -0700, Nick wrote: > >It dawned on me the other day that as we've talked about the costs of war > >lately, one cost that never was mentioned was all the cuts that are being > made > >in education, health care and so forth as a result of the financial cost of > >the war. It's hard to see where those were figured into any equations for > >justifying the war, since they tend to focus on what Iraq did wrong, rather > >than the opportunity costs of spending a gazillion dollars prosecuting the > >war. > > I am sure that one reason for that, is that Economic Theory suggests that > that is not proper foundation for cost-benefit-analysis. According to > generally accepted economics, a government project should simply be > considered based on whether or not its benefits exceed its costs. Whether > or not another project has benefits that exceed its costs by a greater > amount, doesn't really factor into the analysis. > > So, the question is, do the benefits exeed the costs? > > JDG
JDG, I get the sense that Nick is trying to asses the Iraq war from a utilitarian perspective- seeking the greatest good for the greatest number- but is trying to articulate this question economically (where you are probably right about the economic part of it). Perhaps we can discuss it from that angle? ~Maru Nick, I could, of course be misinterpreting you; feel free to correct me, but it looks like you are thinking along the lines of www.costofwar.com . _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
