Economist Steven Landsburg on Fox News 4/12/05

Prof. Landsburg argues why it is a lot like racism to give preference to total strangers in Detroit over total strangers in Japan.

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News & Politics

Tags:

• trade
• landsburg
• jobs
• outsourcing
• fox
• economics
• rochester
• protectionism

[CaseyKing]

Landsburg is right. It is not ethical to fundamentally prefer one group of strangers people over another because of some attribute outside their control.

[Bouje411]

Do you think it makes sense for someone who lives in, say, New York City, to make a big uproar about someone else in the city hiring someone who comes from Buffalo as opposed to someone who isn't already in the City? What if the person from Buffalo is clearly a better/cheaper worker when all things are considered? Wouldn't you think it would be silly for the employer to listen to the fellow new york city person and hire only those from new york city just because someone was from there?

[FinesseCool]

@SexDrugsFinance

That might seem like the (politically, and socially) correct answer, but Landsburg is more or less asking why that is so -- especially if from an economic standpoint the non-countrymen are helping our economy more.

[TakisAthensGr]

@CaseyKing So it's not ethical to fundamentally prefer biologically driven good people to biologically driven criminals in general.

[SexDrugsFinance]

@kaymakba It's true. If a nation has any kind of social programs it makes more sense to care about fellow countrymen.

[kaymakba]

I agree, but he overlooks social programs: Jobless in Detroit draw on social funds (e.g. unemployment insurance), and keep my taxes high. Jobless in Tokyo don't cost me anything.

[AjaxSexton]

@aroyal641 Landsburgs is a brilliant guy, he's on a 6 minute short interview with a fox news representative, I'm sure if he had more time, without being constantly interrupted by a bias opinion he would explain to you why. His arguments aren't flawed... Globalization is well known to benefit everybody. Your basing your judgment on intuition, Landsburg is basing it on years of study, facts, and general 'intuitive' knowledge any economist has.

[6fox]

Landsburg is right on the spot!

Racism and favoring Americans (aka blind nationalism) are both discrimination. In essence, there's no difference between the two.

[The33Makom]

hjb

[deesroll]

Landsburg is neglecting self-interest. Low unemployment in a given country indirectly benefits even an employed citizen by increasing wage competition among employers.

[SaviorOfLogic]

@aroyal641 No. This is just plain wrong. Economy's are only separate because of things like tax and regulation, otherwise they essentially blend together. china selling the west cheap stuff give us more money (to buy whatever stuff), and also makes the Chinese buy stuff from us, which creates jobs in that sector. Free Trade is beneficial to our economy, and this debate has been over since Ricardo.

[aroyal641]

this guy is a virus. his sophistry and poor arguments are infectiously straightforward and shallow... yet this like many of his arguments are both intuitively false and, upon closer examination, deeply flawed. Racism is arbitrary favoritism, nationalism is not arbitrary insofar as our economies function seperately. Why shouldn't I be more interested in my economy performing well when my own economic welfare is contingent to that national economy (and not to China's)?