Re:A game theorist breaks down the effects of inequality
by mrow84 on Tuesday January 14, 2020 @01:17PM
(#22047589)
I thought it was clear (though obviously not) from the example that it was an idealised case, where "ownership" was referring to exclusive use. Your counter-example does not fit that simplified model - you are effectively describing a case where there is one car per person. The premise is not that "wasting money is wasteful", but rather that unequal distribution of resources is wasteful.
It is not the case that all investment is done by wealthy people - large amounts of investment is carried out and directed by governments. Indeed, my understanding is that, if one properly accounts for failed enterprises, there is no significant evidence for greater efficiency in private markets than public ones, both in terms of time-averaged economic growth, and in terms of generating large technological improvements.
How does he know that? That isn't an obvious thing at all. I know a bloke who owns 5 cars; his family has 5 people in it. They are a very productive family and they get a lot done for the public good as a family with those cars. The quoted example only works because the premise is that the money is going to be wasted and then the conclusion is that the money is being wasted. A weak example.
I can guarantee all investment is done by wealthy people; poor people can't invest by virtue of having no money. Practically all investment is done by the middle- and upper- classes. It isn't really possible to make a pithy point about this sort of thing because there needs to be discussion of things like investment outcomes; some subjects can't be simplified. "Public Good" isn't an instant thing, it takes place over time.