Episode 123: Economics with Hayek and Sen (Part Two)

Summary: Continuing our discussion of Amartya Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987) with some comparisons to F.A. Hayek and his essay "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945), with guest Seth Benzell.<br> We attempt to penetrate Sen's problems with the assumptions of welfare economics: Are people really rational maximizers of self-interest? Don't we have to pay attention to philosophical problems in ethics if we're trying to figure out policies to maximize good in society? Also, do the two figures really (based on what we read) disagree as much as their characterizations as Hayek the libertarian and Sen the champion against poverty would suggest?<br> Listen to <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/08/19/precog123-economics/" target="_blank">Seth B's introduction</a> and <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/09/07/ep123-1-economics/" target="_blank">part one</a> first. <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/08/19/topic123-hayek-sen-economics/" target="_blank">Read more about the topic and get the text</a>.<br> End song: "People Who Throw Away Love" by <a href="http://marklint.com/samples.html" target="_blank">Mark Lint</a>, recorded 1997, remixed now.<br> Sen image by Genevieve Arnold.<br>