I know I have posted quite a few questions, but I wonder whether I could still ask you for some career advice.
You have frequently said that you have a dream job and I have no doubt it's true. Do you have any advice for men in their late 20s who are similar to you in terms of personality and intelligence? Is a PhD program the only way? Pursuing a broad-based intellectual life full-time outside academia appears to be difficult, especially for someone from a third-world country.
It's been 12 years since Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids was published. It's a wonderful book. Are there any major points you have since learned that you would want to add to the book? Do you intend to publish a second edition?
Are you worried that ChatGPT will soon become better than you at writing articles and books in the style of Bryan Caplan? I am really curious to hear your answer.
Do you see libertarian politicians getting popular in the US anytime soon? Why or why not? The main conservative parities in the UK and Canada appear to be moving in a libertarian direction, but I don't see the Republican Party becoming more libertarian, except for its foreign policy platform.
I actually think the Republicans became a LOT more libertarian during Covid. 75% has faded out, but 25% of a lot still impresses me. They're actually doing a lot for school choice. And their moral panics are now far less objectionable to me. Trans surgery on minors isn't a huge problem, but it sure looks a lot like child abuse to me. For Republicans to focus on this (plus DEI generally) over immigration is a big improvement in my book.
I agree though the new libertarian leanings may have been canceled out by its increased hostility towards high-skill immigration and free trade. And the GOP appears to have abandoned entitlement reforms.
How much of your homeschool success with your twins do you attribute to their personality and bookish nature?
Would you blanket recommend homeschooling? Or are there circumstances where you would not? How much credence do you give to the child's preference? And did you continue CFS with your other 2 kids?
For context, We have a 2 year old and another on the way, but are unsure of long term schooling. Also, count me as another person that went from "maybe one" to "definitely multiple" children thanks to your writing on the topic.
I'd give the twins personality/bookish nature 70% credit.
I gave a blanket recommendation to homeschooling during the Zoom school era. Otherwise, it really depends on the kid and the parents. After schools re-opened, we gave our younger kids a 3-week trial back in regular school. My younger son came back to CFS, my daughter stayed in regular school.
P.S. Glad to hear about the extra kids you're having!
On the question of radical free will, you have argued that human beings could always act against a physics model's prediction, even taking into account feedback loops. But it appears that it's a matter of recursion where anytime you take the prediction into account, the model generates a new prediction. So it seems illogical to suggest such a thought experiment validates radical free will.
You have said almost all wars are offensive. So I am curious about your views on the current Ukraine war and the wars Israel has fought since independence. Are they defensive? I understand it’s not a representative sample.
My key argument is that "defensive" wars almost always wind up targeting lots of innocent people. Israel has clearly done so many times.
Ukraine? From the start, it's used not only conscription, but also practically banned emigration for adult males. And the government claims they want to retake Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, which will obviously involve targeting lots of innocent people if they get that far.
Is there a kill ratio in terms of collateral damage you would find acceptable? I believe Israel now achieves a relatively high kill ratio in the sense that for every civilian killed multiple enemy combatants are killed.
What about the right of self defense? One might argue had Israel been less aggressive, the country would have been destroyed in the sense that it would have been occupied even though a new Holocaust might have been unlikely. Do you believe preserving statehood does not justify killing innocents?
Can I ask how you would have handled Nazi Germany differently as FDR after the declaration of war by Hitler? I assume you don’t approve of strategic bombing of German cities.
I wish to pick up where we left off during the last Zoom event for paying members.
If experts are more rational than voters, would you prefer an oligarchy to a democracy? In other words, would you rather be ruled by the Harvard faculty or random people from the phone books?
Harvard faculty have become such left-wing fanatics that I now say no. But I would prefer to be ruled by a random sample of STEM Ph.D.s than random people from the phone books.
This may be a different question. But are you worried that in a society ruled by elites, the ruling class will simply try to extract rent instead of defending individual rights or maximizing total welfare? There’s a book called Why Nations Fail, which I am sure you have read, that discusses this issue.
I understand you are a D&D devotee. Assuming you've been a Dungeon Master and done your fair share of world building and campaign designing, how much of your background economics knowledge affects the campaign setting. Do the kingdoms of your realms have well-developed monetary systems? Do you grapple with the economic effects magic could have on supply chains?
In high school, I was so economically illiterate that I designed a nine-metallic standard with fixed rates between all nine metals! I didn't know about GDP per capita, but I definitely had the idea that Elvish lands were a lot richer than Orcish ones.
When I write games now, however, I often have some economics in the background. For example, when I wrote a superhero story where a villain wants to unleash the Midgard Serpent on Salzburg, I spent a lot of time pondering the possible financial motives.
Probably the most complete world-building exercise I've done in the last ten years is for my *Control Group* saga, where the PCs try to escape their dystopian society modelled off the work of B.F. Skinner.
In your post: Labor Demand Elasticity: Boredom is Thoughtless, the cited research mentions that labor tends to become more elastic with less regulations. My first guess is that it would actually get more elastic the more draconian the regulations, and or wage levels? I'm thinking if we made minimum wages $1,000 an hour, labor demanded should be extremely elastic? So I wonder if you could elaborate on that a little? *Also bonus question, and feel free to ignore this: In your labor economics course notes you mention "workers have always earned their marginal productivity," just wondering if some empirics come to mind that reinforce this? Thank you again for your engagements with us Bryan!
I think the idea is that when you're allowed to hire and fire with impunity, your decisions are more responsive to wages.
On the "workers have always earned their marginal productivity," this is mostly just an appeal to common sense. I'd probably word it more carefully if I were writing it today.
If you could stick Michael Huemer in a room for 12 months to research any subject he hasn't already written a book about, and for him to write a book about it, what would it be?
I'd have him write a public policy book, where every chapter is modelled after his papers on immigration restrictions and gun control. So there's (a) weak deontology, plus (b) a concise survey of the social science, leading to (c) a moral conclusion.
No comments yet (I am a new subscriber) but I like the idea of setting aside specific times when you will definitely read comments. That way I know I am not wasting my time!
Hi Bryan,
I know I have posted quite a few questions, but I wonder whether I could still ask you for some career advice.
You have frequently said that you have a dream job and I have no doubt it's true. Do you have any advice for men in their late 20s who are similar to you in terms of personality and intelligence? Is a PhD program the only way? Pursuing a broad-based intellectual life full-time outside academia appears to be difficult, especially for someone from a third-world country.
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
Hi Bryan,
It's been 12 years since Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids was published. It's a wonderful book. Are there any major points you have since learned that you would want to add to the book? Do you intend to publish a second edition?
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
Hi Bryan,
Are you worried that ChatGPT will soon become better than you at writing articles and books in the style of Bryan Caplan? I am really curious to hear your answer.
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
Only a little. Maybe I should be more worried!
Hi Bryan,
Do you see libertarian politicians getting popular in the US anytime soon? Why or why not? The main conservative parities in the UK and Canada appear to be moving in a libertarian direction, but I don't see the Republican Party becoming more libertarian, except for its foreign policy platform.
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
I actually think the Republicans became a LOT more libertarian during Covid. 75% has faded out, but 25% of a lot still impresses me. They're actually doing a lot for school choice. And their moral panics are now far less objectionable to me. Trans surgery on minors isn't a huge problem, but it sure looks a lot like child abuse to me. For Republicans to focus on this (plus DEI generally) over immigration is a big improvement in my book.
I agree though the new libertarian leanings may have been canceled out by its increased hostility towards high-skill immigration and free trade. And the GOP appears to have abandoned entitlement reforms.
How much of your homeschool success with your twins do you attribute to their personality and bookish nature?
Would you blanket recommend homeschooling? Or are there circumstances where you would not? How much credence do you give to the child's preference? And did you continue CFS with your other 2 kids?
For context, We have a 2 year old and another on the way, but are unsure of long term schooling. Also, count me as another person that went from "maybe one" to "definitely multiple" children thanks to your writing on the topic.
I'd give the twins personality/bookish nature 70% credit.
I gave a blanket recommendation to homeschooling during the Zoom school era. Otherwise, it really depends on the kid and the parents. After schools re-opened, we gave our younger kids a 3-week trial back in regular school. My younger son came back to CFS, my daughter stayed in regular school.
P.S. Glad to hear about the extra kids you're having!
Reading the comments was good fun Bryan! I like your views on the problems of private roads. This is a great idea replying to premium comments.
Arnold Kling says "The answer is always price discrimination"
Michael Munger says "The answer is always transactions costs"
What say you?
"The answer is always irrationality."
Both! Self-help advice is useful in large part because people screw up even when they do have high stakes. But low-stakes decisions are far worse.
Hi Bryan,
On the question of radical free will, you have argued that human beings could always act against a physics model's prediction, even taking into account feedback loops. But it appears that it's a matter of recursion where anytime you take the prediction into account, the model generates a new prediction. So it seems illogical to suggest such a thought experiment validates radical free will.
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
Hi Bryan,
You have said almost all wars are offensive. So I am curious about your views on the current Ukraine war and the wars Israel has fought since independence. Are they defensive? I understand it’s not a representative sample.
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
My key argument is that "defensive" wars almost always wind up targeting lots of innocent people. Israel has clearly done so many times.
Ukraine? From the start, it's used not only conscription, but also practically banned emigration for adult males. And the government claims they want to retake Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, which will obviously involve targeting lots of innocent people if they get that far.
Thank you for your reply.
Is there a kill ratio in terms of collateral damage you would find acceptable? I believe Israel now achieves a relatively high kill ratio in the sense that for every civilian killed multiple enemy combatants are killed.
I'd say the relevant ratio is innocents saved/innocents killed. I don't think Israel does well by this metric.
I see.
What about the right of self defense? One might argue had Israel been less aggressive, the country would have been destroyed in the sense that it would have been occupied even though a new Holocaust might have been unlikely. Do you believe preserving statehood does not justify killing innocents?
My whole point is that killing innocent people isn't "self-defense." It's aggression plus propaganda.
Makes sense.
Can I ask how you would have handled Nazi Germany differently as FDR after the declaration of war by Hitler? I assume you don’t approve of strategic bombing of German cities.
Hi Bryan,
I wish to pick up where we left off during the last Zoom event for paying members.
If experts are more rational than voters, would you prefer an oligarchy to a democracy? In other words, would you rather be ruled by the Harvard faculty or random people from the phone books?
Thanks,
Zixuan “Eric” Ma
Harvard faculty have become such left-wing fanatics that I now say no. But I would prefer to be ruled by a random sample of STEM Ph.D.s than random people from the phone books.
This may be a different question. But are you worried that in a society ruled by elites, the ruling class will simply try to extract rent instead of defending individual rights or maximizing total welfare? There’s a book called Why Nations Fail, which I am sure you have read, that discusses this issue.
I understand you are a D&D devotee. Assuming you've been a Dungeon Master and done your fair share of world building and campaign designing, how much of your background economics knowledge affects the campaign setting. Do the kingdoms of your realms have well-developed monetary systems? Do you grapple with the economic effects magic could have on supply chains?
In high school, I was so economically illiterate that I designed a nine-metallic standard with fixed rates between all nine metals! I didn't know about GDP per capita, but I definitely had the idea that Elvish lands were a lot richer than Orcish ones.
When I write games now, however, I often have some economics in the background. For example, when I wrote a superhero story where a villain wants to unleash the Midgard Serpent on Salzburg, I spent a lot of time pondering the possible financial motives.
Probably the most complete world-building exercise I've done in the last ten years is for my *Control Group* saga, where the PCs try to escape their dystopian society modelled off the work of B.F. Skinner.
I think this new feature is great but perhaps needs a word count on the questions.
Great idea Bryan! This is econ 101! 🥰
Yep.
In your post: Labor Demand Elasticity: Boredom is Thoughtless, the cited research mentions that labor tends to become more elastic with less regulations. My first guess is that it would actually get more elastic the more draconian the regulations, and or wage levels? I'm thinking if we made minimum wages $1,000 an hour, labor demanded should be extremely elastic? So I wonder if you could elaborate on that a little? *Also bonus question, and feel free to ignore this: In your labor economics course notes you mention "workers have always earned their marginal productivity," just wondering if some empirics come to mind that reinforce this? Thank you again for your engagements with us Bryan!
I think the idea is that when you're allowed to hire and fire with impunity, your decisions are more responsive to wages.
On the "workers have always earned their marginal productivity," this is mostly just an appeal to common sense. I'd probably word it more carefully if I were writing it today.
Thank you.
If you could stick Michael Huemer in a room for 12 months to research any subject he hasn't already written a book about, and for him to write a book about it, what would it be?
I'd have him write a public policy book, where every chapter is modelled after his papers on immigration restrictions and gun control. So there's (a) weak deontology, plus (b) a concise survey of the social science, leading to (c) a moral conclusion.
No comments yet (I am a new subscriber) but I like the idea of setting aside specific times when you will definitely read comments. That way I know I am not wasting my time!
Glad to hear it.