An economist is someone who, when asked if the slaves should be freed, tells you whether freeing them will cause the GDP to go up or down.
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Replying to @existentialcoms
You know the "dismal science" story, right?
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Replying to @GrantBabcock @existentialcoms
Slavers were mad at economists: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/why-economics-is-really-called-the-dismal-science/282454/ …
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Replying to @GrantBabcock @existentialcoms
EC still has a point: she can say that an economist is someone who would abolish slavery only because it would make gdp grow.
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hi im an economist and you dont know what youre talking about ama
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Probably true, but I'm willing to learn.
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sure. thumbnail: we do tend to separate normative ("is it good") questions from positive ("what will happen"), since we don't claim to have\
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Replying to @eigenrobot @saspav and
any special knowledge of what's good. that said, we also tend to frame questions as "what will make people better-off", and for slavery to \
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be the answer to the question compared to "not slavery" generally requires a rotten definition of "people," in a GIGO sort of way.
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Replying to @eigenrobot @saspav and
thanks for asking, and sorry to have been snippy :)
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Tnx, I already knew most of it, I guess. I was just playing the game. And I can bear Twitter snippiness. Bye
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End of conversation
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