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Most of my facts will be on economics. . . Just cuz.
1. Economics is nowhere near as ideological as people think it is. The New Neoclassical Synthesis has provided a great deal of convergence in the field. It's not difficult to find broad consensus on a host of policy issues. There are only really two schools of thought: saltwater and freshwater, with various strands. The misperception of many competing schools probably comes from heterodox groups like the Post-Keynesians or Austrians who make broadly false claims while making the most noise, as well as people emphasising the difference between Keynesians and Monetarists (if you're a Keynesian in 2015, you're living in a Monetarist hegemony).
2. Free trade is good for the environment.
3. Hate crime and terrorism are largely unrelated to level of education or economic conditions.
4. Foreign aid doesn't really help poorer countries, instead simply increasing the size of the recipient government.
5. Trickle-down economics isn't actually a thing.
6. People on zero-hours contracts enjoy their job to about the same degree as the general populace, and are more likely to be happy with their work-life balance.
7. FDR's New Deal didn't aid the US's recovery (and potentially harmed it).
8. Fiscal consolidation (austerity) isn't always contractionary.
9. Hospital competition actually helps improve performance.
Most of my facts will be on economics. . . Just cuz.
1. Economics is nowhere near as ideological as people think it is. The New Neoclassical Synthesis has provided a great deal of convergence in the field. It's not difficult to find broad consensus on a host of policy issues. There are only really two schools of thought: saltwater and freshwater, with various strands. The misperception of many competing schools probably comes from heterodox groups like the Post-Keynesians or Austrians who make broadly false claims while making the most noise, as well as people emphasising the difference between Keynesians and Monetarists (if you're a Keynesian in 2015, you're living in a Monetarist hegemony).
2. Free trade is good for the environment.
3. Hate crime and terrorism are largely unrelated to level of education or economic conditions.
4. Foreign aid doesn't really help poorer countries, instead simply increasing the size of the recipient government.
5. Trickle-down economics isn't actually a thing.
6. People on zero-hours contracts enjoy their job to about the same degree as the general populace, and are more likely to be happy with their work-life balance.
7. FDR's New Deal didn't aid the US's recovery (and potentially harmed it).
8. Fiscal consolidation (austerity) isn't always contractionary.
9. Hospital competition actually helps improve performance.
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(Original post by niceguy95)
Africa isn't a country
Africa isn't a country
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#4
3 isn't what "most people" are unaware of. 4 offers no alternative at all regardless of how true or untrue it is therefore criticism is pointless while 7 just seems wrong.
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(Original post by Nortus)
3 isn't what "most people" are unaware of.
3 isn't what "most people" are unaware of.
4 offers no alternative at all regardless of how true or untrue it is therefore criticism is pointless
while 7 just seems wrong.
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#6
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
Seems like it.
Well, that's not true. There are myriad proposals for welfare-improvement in developing countries, with things like debt relief
Seems like it.
Well, that's not true. There are myriad proposals for welfare-improvement in developing countries, with things like debt relief
(IMF)
Spoiler: ![Image]()
External debt (Public and Private (Household+Corporate)) in Ethiopia is 53 dollars per citizen. That's 3.3% of Ethiopia's GDP per capita (in purchasing power) .. What will debt relief achieve for Ethiopia?Show
This one is a little older (2007): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._world_map.PNG
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
and microfinance being just two, although their efficacy is also suspect.
and microfinance being just two, although their efficacy is also suspect.
The full extent of microfinancing is yet to be seen but it can hardly be described as a policy, emphasising the 'micro' part as well as the fact that economic growth as a result is not notable.
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
Just because I haven't enunciated the alternatives, it doesn't make criticism irrelevant.
Just because I haven't enunciated the alternatives, it doesn't make criticism irrelevant.
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(Original post by Nortus)
What will debt relief achieve for Ethiopia?
What will debt relief achieve for Ethiopia?
Well of course it makes the argument irrelevant.
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#11
(Original post by Ruthless Dutchman)
Nobody really knows who's actually in charge of the UK
Nobody really knows who's actually in charge of the UK
But don't tell anyone.
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#15
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
With source(s)/context!
Most of my facts will be on economics. . . Just cuz.
1. Economics is nowhere near as ideological as people think it is. The New Neoclassical Synthesis has provided a great deal of convergence in the field. It's not difficult to find broad consensus on a host of policy issues. There are only really two schools of thought: saltwater and freshwater, with various strands. The misperception of many competing schools probably comes from heterodox groups like the Post-Keynesians or Austrians who make broadly false claims while making the most noise, as well as people emphasising the difference between Keynesians and Monetarists (if you're a Keynesian in 2015, you're living in a Monetarist hegemony).
With source(s)/context!
Most of my facts will be on economics. . . Just cuz.
1. Economics is nowhere near as ideological as people think it is. The New Neoclassical Synthesis has provided a great deal of convergence in the field. It's not difficult to find broad consensus on a host of policy issues. There are only really two schools of thought: saltwater and freshwater, with various strands. The misperception of many competing schools probably comes from heterodox groups like the Post-Keynesians or Austrians who make broadly false claims while making the most noise, as well as people emphasising the difference between Keynesians and Monetarists (if you're a Keynesian in 2015, you're living in a Monetarist hegemony).
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
3. Hate crime and terrorism are largely unrelated to level of education or economic conditions.
3. Hate crime and terrorism are largely unrelated to level of education or economic conditions.
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
4. Foreign aid doesn't really help poorer countries, instead simply increasing the size of the recipient government.
4. Foreign aid doesn't really help poorer countries, instead simply increasing the size of the recipient government.
And, perhaps aid would help in a wider range of cases if we actually spent more money on it: the Iraq War cost more than the amount the United States spent on aid in the past 50 years. The aid that developed countries give each year amounts to around $33 per person in developing countries.
Moreover, health-based aid, in particular, seems to have had a beneficial effect in some instances. Smallpox was eradicated following a WHO initiative, deaths from malaria and cholera have dramatically fallen and under-five child mortality due to preventable diseases of all kinds has also dramatically fallen, and it's hard not to credit charitable donations and aid with at least some of this overall success.
(Original post by Meta Cognition)
7. FDR's New Deal didn't aid the US's recovery (and potentially harmed it).
7. FDR's New Deal didn't aid the US's recovery (and potentially harmed it).
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#17
Just in general, it bugs me when your opinion is not the 'right one' and it automatically makes you a hater. It seems to me that many people can't understand that not everyone thinks the same.
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#18
The EU and the Euro are here to stay.
Accusations of a 'democratic deficit' in the EU have been rubbished most recently in an intensive Harvard study.
Greece a economy was growing under their previous administration- ditching the euro has got nothing to do with solving greeces problems- the vast majority of Greeks also want to stay on the EU.
Welsh, Scottish and Northern people are all free to move to the south east- some of them don't even speak English and have a very different quality of life to us.
Scrapping trident would actually cost a ton of money.
Accusations of a 'democratic deficit' in the EU have been rubbished most recently in an intensive Harvard study.
Greece a economy was growing under their previous administration- ditching the euro has got nothing to do with solving greeces problems- the vast majority of Greeks also want to stay on the EU.
Welsh, Scottish and Northern people are all free to move to the south east- some of them don't even speak English and have a very different quality of life to us.
Scrapping trident would actually cost a ton of money.
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#20
There's no such thing as "African" language.
People in Africa speak a variety of languages depending on the region, such as Swahili, Arabic or Hausa.
People in Africa speak a variety of languages depending on the region, such as Swahili, Arabic or Hausa.
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