> Government is subject to a wild variety of inefficiencies.
Of course. I'm not proposing a command economy. In fact, I wouldn't even propose to legislate away the industry I just maligned.
I do believe (in agreement with Adam Smith) that the market is not a suitable model for all kinds of human activity. Science, for instance. You can't determine the value of an experimental result until long after you have given it away for free, making it nearly impossible for scientific organizations to capture any of the value they create.
Next time the doctor tells you (or a dying relative) that you don't have any good options, reflect on the market's wisdom in spending only 2% of health care revenue on research. Does this figure represent some hidden insight or does it represent a boring fact about the way markets work that has nothing to do with optimality?
Of course. I'm not proposing a command economy. In fact, I wouldn't even propose to legislate away the industry I just maligned.
I do believe (in agreement with Adam Smith) that the market is not a suitable model for all kinds of human activity. Science, for instance. You can't determine the value of an experimental result until long after you have given it away for free, making it nearly impossible for scientific organizations to capture any of the value they create.
Next time the doctor tells you (or a dying relative) that you don't have any good options, reflect on the market's wisdom in spending only 2% of health care revenue on research. Does this figure represent some hidden insight or does it represent a boring fact about the way markets work that has nothing to do with optimality?