At 09:11 PM 10/22/97 -0700, Harry Pollard wrote:
>>>"Man's desires are unlimited";
>I don't mind the dictionary description of the term 'desire' - 'conscious
>impulse toward an object or experience that promises enjoyment or
>satisfaction in its attainment'.
OK, your claim is falsified. My desires are not "unlimited".
Among many others, I do not "desire" to climb Everest.
Perhaps you need to amend your original claim.
>>>"Man seeks to satisfy his desires with the least exertion".
>I would simply say that when we do something we are exerting ourselves. In
What's jogging? It seems that under some conditions, people
try to maximize exertion. Perhaps you need to amend your
original claim.
>>Although Friedman is one of the most influential economists
>>of the twentieth century, he is lying. Economists do not
>>even define the word "benefit" -- let alone measure it.
>
>We tend to do things that we believe will be of benefit to us.
YOu have done what I said economists tend to do: redefine key
terms to fit political agendas. You are redefining "benefit"
to be the "things people tend to do".
So what has become of Friedman's scientific claim?
"Adam Smith's key insight was that both parties to an
exchange can benefit and that, so long as cooperation
is strictly voluntary, no exchange will take place
unless both parties do THINGS PEOPLE TEND TO DO."
[p. xv, Milton and Rose Friedman, FREE TO CHOOSE;
AVON, 1979; ISBN 0-380-52548-8]
One couldn't sell books writing stuff like that.
Jay -- http://dieoff.org
