When my friends and I went to the movie theaters the other day one of my friends made a compassionate yet naïve observation. He took particular notice at the ‘movie ticket ripper guy’ and how he was clearly mentally retarded. (We’ve probably all witnessed the disabled movie ticket ripper some time in our lives. I’ve once had my ticket stub sniped by a man so physically deformed he needed scissors to successfully do his job.) He commented on how wonderful and beautiful society is that they find jobs for such people. After all, they could have hired some able-bodied teenager to do the same job for equal pay.
Does corporate America feel bad for cripples? Is this an act of charity?
Unfortunately, this is no evidence for big corporations having a soul, but instead a prime example comparative advantage. Simply put, physically or mentally handicapped people have less opportunity cost, in most cases, ripping ticket stubs for a living. A fully functioning teenager has more opportunity cost i.e. ‘more to lose’ spending his time ripping tickets. A teenager can instead acquire a new skill set or invest in his education. Ripping tickets would rob the teenager of a better use of his time.
Handicapped people, more often than not, have less return investing in their own human capital. Having these people rip our tickets is not an act of kindness, but a rational economic decision that leads to a more efficient allocation of resources.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Most Dangerous Meme
Daniel Dennett introduced us to the many dangers of certain memes, like terrorism and behaviors justified by faith. The reason as to why these memes are so prominent in the meme pool may still be a mystery, but what is certain is the diabolical consequence these memes have on their hosts, humans. Dennett, however, fails to mention what I believe to be the most dangerous meme of all: racism.
To be clear, by racism I mean - the belief that one race is more superior to another. This dangerous meme, unlike suicide for instance, does not directly lead to the annihilation of the host. Its destruction extends far beyond those who have been hijacked by the meme.
You may believe that some breeds of racism memes are harmless or benign if anything. I would argue that racism allows us to be comfortable ignoring an inconvenient moral obligation we all have – to help another suffering human being. Of course, some people’s suffering may be self-induced or even desired, but otherwise we have the moral duty of helping those whose suffering can be reasonably stopped.
Racist thoughts pardon us from feelings of sympathy for a race we believe to be less superior to our own. These thoughts may not completely destroy our sympathy for others, but it may eliminate enough sympathy to deter us from taking a moral initiative. In a sense, the racism memes can cause more damage than any terrorist meme. Many harmful memes like terrorism and genocide depend on racism in order to survive. Eliminating or reducing racism will reduce the memes that piggy back on it.
We cannot even begin our war on terrorism without a war on racism.
To be clear, by racism I mean - the belief that one race is more superior to another. This dangerous meme, unlike suicide for instance, does not directly lead to the annihilation of the host. Its destruction extends far beyond those who have been hijacked by the meme.
You may believe that some breeds of racism memes are harmless or benign if anything. I would argue that racism allows us to be comfortable ignoring an inconvenient moral obligation we all have – to help another suffering human being. Of course, some people’s suffering may be self-induced or even desired, but otherwise we have the moral duty of helping those whose suffering can be reasonably stopped.
Racist thoughts pardon us from feelings of sympathy for a race we believe to be less superior to our own. These thoughts may not completely destroy our sympathy for others, but it may eliminate enough sympathy to deter us from taking a moral initiative. In a sense, the racism memes can cause more damage than any terrorist meme. Many harmful memes like terrorism and genocide depend on racism in order to survive. Eliminating or reducing racism will reduce the memes that piggy back on it.
We cannot even begin our war on terrorism without a war on racism.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
It’s All So Convincing
Growing up, you and everyone you knew made the resolution that one day you would get a paying job. No one questioned the legitimacy of such an endeavor – money was the magical resource that would cater to your every whim. Living without money was seen more as a death sentence than a choice.
Well, here we are… still looking for that one job, that one investment, that one gamble that will make us more money. If money is so important why don’t we just produce a lot of it and give it to everyone? Shouldn’t we start the printing presses and fire our cash cannon in everyone’s face?
There exists an important distinction between legit and non-legit money. Money is supposed to be interchangeable with some unit amount of goods and services. Money is supposed to be meaningful in this respect; as opposed to being a flimsy piece of paper. In other words, money is suppose to represent something.
Money is like a casino chip, it represents something.
One reason casinos use poker chips instead of real money is because gamblers aren’t attached to their chips as they are to their money – too much emotional baggage attached to it. Casinos don’t want their customers to see the chips as grocery bills and mortgage payments; they want them to be lost in the game.
I feel that we often forget what makes most of our thoughts and actions intelligible. The thoughts and actions I am referring to are the ones that revolve around money. We waste are days and our health with our financial pursuits. We literally stress ourselves to sickness - agonizing over our shortcomings. Sometimes we need to step back and make sure we aren’t lost in the game too.
Well, here we are… still looking for that one job, that one investment, that one gamble that will make us more money. If money is so important why don’t we just produce a lot of it and give it to everyone? Shouldn’t we start the printing presses and fire our cash cannon in everyone’s face?
There exists an important distinction between legit and non-legit money. Money is supposed to be interchangeable with some unit amount of goods and services. Money is supposed to be meaningful in this respect; as opposed to being a flimsy piece of paper. In other words, money is suppose to represent something.
Money is like a casino chip, it represents something.
One reason casinos use poker chips instead of real money is because gamblers aren’t attached to their chips as they are to their money – too much emotional baggage attached to it. Casinos don’t want their customers to see the chips as grocery bills and mortgage payments; they want them to be lost in the game.
I feel that we often forget what makes most of our thoughts and actions intelligible. The thoughts and actions I am referring to are the ones that revolve around money. We waste are days and our health with our financial pursuits. We literally stress ourselves to sickness - agonizing over our shortcomings. Sometimes we need to step back and make sure we aren’t lost in the game too.
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