tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post7925534978549856844..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: Richard Epstein: Peak DishonestyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-72376679013977090672021-08-20T14:18:27.659-04:002021-08-20T14:18:27.659-04:00His prediction that the virus will mutate to a les...His prediction that the virus will mutate to a less lethal form doesn't seem to be working out so well. He got that from "Rats, Lice, and History". It might be true over 100-year time spans.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384958212530642178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-3953659265328085562020-03-31T14:41:34.684-04:002020-03-31T14:41:34.684-04:00We are not sure that the future will avoid bringin...We are not sure that the future will avoid bringing us much deadlier viruses. The idea of survival of the fittest, distribution curves, our information from history, and just simple gambling lets us know that now and then we need to be ready to handle a worse case.Michael Steibnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-53931012710200707462020-03-30T21:01:18.005-04:002020-03-30T21:01:18.005-04:00Thank you, Peter, for reporting on this rank hypoc...Thank you, Peter, for reporting on this rank hypocrisy by Epstein, unsurprising as it is.<br /><br />To Anonymous, while many are, not all libertarians are hypocritical nihilists like Epstein appears to be. In fact George Mason is where some of those who are not, people who are reasonably principled. I would note for that list from there: Peter Boettke, Tyler Cowen, and Christopher Coyne.<br /><br />Unfortunately some of the others at Mason fit the description.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-56848093963847781362020-03-30T16:47:29.407-04:002020-03-30T16:47:29.407-04:00his argument is that the virus responsible for thi...<i>his argument is that the virus responsible for this pandemic exhibits a range of toxicities, and that evolutionary forces will naturally and fairly quickly shift this distribution toward milder strains.</i><br /><br />Unlike Epstein, I don't pretend to know much about epidemiology, but based on my limited understanding it sounds like Epstein is confusing a couple of things. As a matter of probabilities, it's true that most mutations are likely to be milder and weaker; however, it's that very property that makes those weaker and milder viruses less likely to survive. Epstein seems to be propagating a theory of evolution in which the weakest are likely to dominate the less frequent but more deadly viruses.2slugbaitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763897441056512506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-26091285374368633032020-03-30T16:22:12.145-04:002020-03-30T16:22:12.145-04:00The point for me is that libertarians are in fact ...The point for me is that libertarians are in fact nihilists as I learned from briefly paying attention to the Harvard guy who wound up at George Mason. I learned also then why Tolstoy expressed such a disdain for nihilists, which puzzled me for years (but then I never bothered to read Ayn Rand).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-63112947679534106472020-03-30T14:42:37.631-04:002020-03-30T14:42:37.631-04:00"assume no market failure of any sort". ..."assume no market failure of any sort". As if there were no negative externalities at play here. Libertarians do not live on the real world. pglnoreply@blogger.com