Thursday, June 10, 2004
Can't decide who to vote for? A simple matter of weighing up benefits and costs. First calculate the monetary value of the benefits to you of each potential candidate. Note, this does not just mean the amount of council tax you will pay: what value do you put on lower crime, London Open House, cleaner streets? Now what is the probability of your vote deciding the election? Multiply this probability by the net value of each candidate's package and you have a figure for the benefit to be had in casting your vote. Chances are (and those chances are 100%), this benefit will be less than the cost to you of voting. i.e. a figure put on the inconvenience of going to the booth - let's say 50p. In which case it would be irrational to bother.
Welcome to economics. Truly it is the dismal science.*
* It's not a science at all, of course, no matter how much it wants to be. Economics has physics envy. The chain of envy goes as follow: Sociology -> Politics -> Economics -> Physics.
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Welcome to economics. Truly it is the dismal science.*
* It's not a science at all, of course, no matter how much it wants to be. Economics has physics envy. The chain of envy goes as follow: Sociology -> Politics -> Economics -> Physics.
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