tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post4328594352460127296..comments2024-03-22T06:05:36.544-04:00Comments on Kids Prefer Cheese: Barter and Exchange Leads to TrucksMungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-17190964410202887502010-05-24T21:22:07.528-04:002010-05-24T21:22:07.528-04:00Great post.
I've secretly read your blog for ...Great post.<br /><br />I've secretly read your blog for a while but never commented till now... <br /><br />I think I might restate this post a little differently as I think Ridley underplays some elements which may or may not be confusing you.<br /><br />In a universe where <a href="http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/23/6/1286" rel="nofollow">the conservation of energy is the very driving force for the existence of life</a>, a fractal positive feedback loop of specialization in the setting of cooperation- we also call this "evolution"- permits non-zero sum economic benefits. But the benefit of this non-zero sum gain comes at the cost of increased risk from a failure of cooperation. <br /><br />... If you were to use modern press language, you can think of this as saying that increasing personal gain comes at the cost of increasing collective or "systemic" risk.<br /><br />So while I too share Ridley's optimistic view, if we are fair it can be a little Kool Aid when viewed from a hard science perspective.<br /><br />It is a simple fact that a conservation of energy implies a conservation of risk for a closed system. There is no way around this simple fact. And while planet earth is not technically a closed system, it is functionally pretty darn close.<br /><br />It is what it is<br /><br />Again, nice blog<br /><br />Be wellThaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700253024420397221noreply@blogger.com