The thoughts I was having about what Henry had been telling me were disturbing. It wasn’t that what he said didn’t make sense—it did. I’m thinking that what he said “rocked the boat”, the boat containing the “common sense” that the people I know have been sailing in all their lives. I have to accept the probability, if not the fact, that the content of the boat carrying the so-called “common sense” may be bogus. In turn, that made me think that I have to try to understand better just what the phrase “common sense” really means. I’ll have to revisit that idea later, though.
In the meantime, needing to deal with the present, I said, “Henry, my apology for getting distracted. Let me return to my example of the businessman trying to make a decision about allocation of capital resources. The only certainty in his situation is that he is working under a condition of uncertainty. Not only that, the greater the degree of uncertainty, the greater the amount of imagination he has to exercise to figure out how to deal satisfactorily with his problem. Do you agree with me on that?”
Henry nodded in assent.
I continued, “One of the elements contributing to the uncertainty he faces is the length of time over which his decision will be operative. The longer the time frame, the greater the degree of uncertainty. The greater the degree of uncertainty, the greater the necessity to ‘scope’ out possible secondary consequences. This is really a big part of what you have been talking about, isn’t it?
Assent.
“Henry, the truth is becoming more and more clear to me,” I said, “but, public projects have been around ‘forever’. Most people have been brought up to believe in the fallacies you’ve described. The sense of things I am getting is that most people just don’t know what ‘money’ really is. And, what you have been saying reflects that. I’m wondering how what you are calling fallacious beliefs came about? And, on a practical basis, where do we go from here with them?”
Henry shook his head in the negative. “It is the beliefs which politically influential groups hold and which governments act upon that we are interested in here, not the historical origins of those beliefs,” he said.
“Okay; fair enough. Please continue,” I said.
“Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man...,” Henry began
“Hey,” I interjected. “That statement is what got us started on this whole conversation.”
Henry nodded in assent.
I continued, “One of the elements contributing to the uncertainty he faces is the length of time over which his decision will be operative. The longer the time frame, the greater the degree of uncertainty. The greater the degree of uncertainty, the greater the necessity to ‘scope’ out possible secondary consequences. This is really a big part of what you have been talking about, isn’t it?
Assent.
“Henry, the truth is becoming more and more clear to me,” I said, “but, public projects have been around ‘forever’. Most people have been brought up to believe in the fallacies you’ve described. The sense of things I am getting is that most people just don’t know what ‘money’ really is. And, what you have been saying reflects that. I’m wondering how what you are calling fallacious beliefs came about? And, on a practical basis, where do we go from here with them?”
Henry shook his head in the negative. “It is the beliefs which politically influential groups hold and which governments act upon that we are interested in here, not the historical origins of those beliefs,” he said.
“Okay; fair enough. Please continue,” I said.
“Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man...,” Henry began
“Hey,” I interjected. “That statement is what got us started on this whole conversation.”
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