Sulla domanda di economia irrazionale: Naomi Klein vs. Milton Friedman

Filoso, Valerio (2008): Sulla domanda di economia irrazionale: Naomi Klein vs. Milton Friedman. Forthcoming in: Il Politico

Abstract

The persistence of demand for economic irrationality, as expressed by the big success gained by the literature on no-globalism, is an empirical puzzle and the recent book by Naomi Klein The Shock Doctrine (2007) is a rampant example. An explanation for this anomaly is provided by the theory of rational irrationality (Caplan, 2007). While in the field of natural sciences confutation of wrong theories sets them apart forever, in the field of economics rebutted theories can still have an appeal on nonprofessional readers, even though the underlying theory has already been proved wrong. This is due to the low private cost of economic opinion and the big gain derived from the illusion of grasping complex economic phenomena.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• English Title: On the Demand of Irrational Economics: Naomi Klein vs. Milton Friedman
• Language: Italian
• Keywords: Economic Irrationality, Political Preferences, Antiglobalism
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A12 - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines; D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A11 - Role of Economics ; Role of Economists ; Market for Economists

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