As many of you know I have a second blog called “The Money Illusion” I shut it down yesterday and started a replacement blog called “The Money Illusion”. The pursuit of happiness:
URL: scottsumner.substack.com/
Speaking of happiness, here are some questions to consider.
What public policy do you oppose, even though you believe it would make the world a happier place in the long run?
I am not interested in unrealistic hypothetical policies involving fantasy creatures like “utility monsters.” Actual real-world policies You are against those policies even though you believe they would make the world a happier place.
Perhaps you too can find an example of a real policy that I should oppose that will convince me to abandon utilitarianism.
P.S. Please don’t tell me this is the wrong question. This is a question I’m interested in.
PPS. A Straussian interpretation of this post is that utilitarianism, properly understood, gives us no clear-cut answer when it comes to deciding which public policies are best. We are like a ship sailing through thick fog. (The same can be said for Bayesian analysis.
Here’s a photo of Jeremy Bentham:
