Setting the stage for some upcoming posts

For several months I have had many ideas for posts, and while I felt that I needed to write those posts, I instead did not do so. One reason for my silence is that all these ideas, while covering a variety of issues, have a common underlying theme, and I was having difficulty figuring out how to present all of them in a way that stayed focused on that theme. Another reason is that in order to state my case on all of these issues in the manner I generally require of myself, a lot of research and proper citation is needed, and for the last few months I have not had the time and energy needed to accomplish those tasks. However, I have decided that now is the time to start trying to posting again. I will apologize now for 1) what will be a slow (slower than usual) process, and 2) my initial lack of research. Sometimes in life you have no choice but to go with what you have at the moment, and at other times, even though there might be a choice to do otherwise, you just need to go ahead anyway.

So with that in mind...

I will explain my basic theme by reprinting a post from October 11, 2005, entitled "My favorite economist joke."

There is a tragedy at sea in the form of a shipwreck. As the ship sinks, three survivors manage to climb aboard a lifeboat. To their delight, they find that the boat is stocked with some fresh water and several crates of canned food. There is, however, a slight problem. They have no can opener (or any other tools). As two of the survivors ponder possible starvation, the third announces that he is an economist and he has come up with a solution. As the other two look on in amazement, they beg the economist to explain the solution.

The economist looks at them with total sincerity and says, "First, assume a can opener..."

One subject upon which I will be musing is the economy, and one point I will assert thereon is that no matter what economic theory one espouses, one must "assume a can opener." And speaking of economic theories and systems, I generally prefer a free market approach. However, I do not see eye-to-eye with my raging libertarian friends on this point. They feel that "the market" is a benign entity that naturally reaches a rational result--and I say that is not and never will be true. Why? The answer is very simple: "the market" depends almost entirely on the conduct and decisions of people, AND people are basically stupid, greedy, selfish, and shortsighted. And that is the basic theme of many posts to come.