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201 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 3h \ on: America is richer than ever. Why is it so unhappy? econ
Clearly something is wrong with that definition of “prosperity”
Seems like it calls into question a lot of economic orthodoxies too, including perhaps some Austrian ones
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I think it’s more of a reminder that there’s lots of weirdly connected stuff in our utility functions.
The normal ceteris paribus reasoning is mostly fine. We’re just overlooking a bunch of tradeoffs that involve difficult to measure goods.
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yeh, i'm not calling into question the method of economic reasoning. More calling into question the kind of commentary you see on CNBC, y'know where they say things like re-using your old printer instead of buying a new one may be good for your wallet but bad for the economy.
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So what you’re saying is that the definition of prosperity should be broader and include your state of mind?
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All value is subjective, so “prosperity” has always been related to states of mind.
We proxy for it with purchasing power because that’s sort of observable and measurable, but people have conflated the proxy with the real thing.
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