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Osgood-Schlatter disease is an overuse condition or injury of the knee that causes pain and swelling below the knee area over the shin bone in growing children and adolescents.
What causes Osgood-Schlatter disease?
Osgood-Schlatter disease is characterized by inflammation of the patellar tendon andsportsports surrounding soft tissues. It is caused by the constant pulling of the patellar tendon on the area below the knee where the tendon attaches.
Osgood-Schlatter disease is seen in the growing child and adolescent, particularly those who participate in athletics. This is an age where the bones are typically growing faster than the muscles and tendons. As a result, the muscles and tendons have a tendency to become tight.Who is affected by Osgood-Schlatter disease?
Osgood-Schlatter disease is most often seen in preteen and teenage boys from 10 to 15 years old. It is common in young athletes who play games or sports that involve running, jumping, or going up and down stairs. Adolescent athletes who are affected are most often involved in football, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, or ballet.
What are the symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease?
The following are the most common symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease. However, each adolescent may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- Tenderness below the knee
- Swelling below the knee
- Limping (may worsen following jumping activities)
The symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease may resemble other conditions or medical problems of the knee. Always consult your adolescent's doctor for a diagnosis.
How is Osgood-Schlatter disease diagnosed?
In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for Osgood-Schlatter disease may include:
- X-rays. A diagnostic test that uses invisible electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film. X-rays may be performed to rule out other lesions.
Treatment for Osgood-Schlatter disease
Specific treatment for Osgood-Schlatter disease will be determined by your adolescent's doctor based on:
- Your adolescent's age, overall health, and medical history
- The extent of the condition
- Your adolescent's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- Expectations for the course of the condition
- Your opinion or preference
The goal of treatment is to control the knee pain and limit your teen's activities that could aggravate the condition. Treatment may include:
- R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, and elevation)
- Medications (anti-inflammatories for discomfort and swelling)
- Elastic wrap or a neoprene knee sleeve around the knee
- Activity restrictions
- Physical therapy (to help stretch and strengthen the thigh and leg muscles)
Long-term outlook for an adolescent with Osgood-Schlatter disease
Osgood-Schlatter disease often resolves with time. Rarely is surgery required for this condition.


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Brown Rice Lasagne, Organic, 10 ozs. by Tinkyada
Regular price
Brown Rice Lasagne, Organic
100% Rice Pasta. Lasagne. Wheat free/gluten free. Good consistent texture. Not Mushy. No nut or peanut contents. Egg Free. Cholesterol Free. Source of Fiber. Fat Free. Sodium Free. Easy to digest. A natural health food. No preservatives added.
We promise a delightful eating experience!
Excellent in texture and taste, it also does not contain gluten, a protein found in some other types of pasta. Tinkyada Rice Pasta is a healthy and tasty alternative to pasta with gluten, ideal for a gluten-free and a light diet.
Simple healthy ingredients, uniquely chewy and al dente mouth-feel, full body texture, a value superb... Just Right! Determined to be the best!
Awarded "Certificate of Distinction (taste)" by Quality Institute International U.S.A.
Tinkyada, a leader in rice pasta manufacturing technology, quality and health oriented.
Tinkyada Rice Pasta is the result of years of research and refinement - an ultimate in the enjoyment of pasta. It cooks like any regular pasta. Award-winning taste. It is not mushy. Its texture, superb.
Take a pack home today, for a healthy pasta that you and your loved ones are sure to appreciate, with joy. Guaranteed.
INGREDIENTS: Stone Ground Organic Brown Rice and Water.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 oz. (56g) makes 1 cup cooked.
Servings per Package 6
Nutrient Amount %DV
Calories 200
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0 g 1%
Saturated Fat 0 g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 0 mg 0%
Potassium 140 mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 44 g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1 g 6%
Sugars less than 1 g
Protein 5 g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 4%
Thiamine 10%
Riboflavin 1%
Niacin 8%
- Manufactured in a wheat-free factory premise.
- Stove-top cooking instruction: Put one package of pasta into 4 quarts of boiling water and add a tablespoon salt (do not add salt if on a sodium free diet). Stir occasionally and cook for 12-4 minutes until desired tenderness is reached. Rinse with cold water. Drain well. For best results, rid pasta of surface moisture. Can be served hot or warm with any kind of pasta sauce or in your favorite pasta recipes, in hot soup, in salad, stir-fried, or as a casserole. Use it as you would like any regular pasta.
- This rice pasta does not contain wheat or gluten and is recommended for the dietary management of those who have gluten-intolerance (celiacs). We specialize in rice pasta, and strictly enforce a manufacturing premise without wheat, gluten, dairy, meat, corn, soy, nut or peanut.
- 100% Organic.
- Egg Free.
- Wheat Free.
- Gluten Free.
- Kosher Certified.
- Product of Canada.

subset: commoncrawl


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Garth Brooks Is Coming to the Small Screen With New TV Special
Country music superstar Garth Brooks is used to playing for fans in sold-out stadiums across the globe; however, the singer is embarking on a new journey. Brooks will be going from a stage playing to thousands of people to a more intimate venue showing up on TV screens directly in their homes.
The superstar's new four-part TV special, Garth: The Road I'm On, will premiere this winter on the A&E channel as part of the Biography Presents series that airs on the network. The series touts itself as "[telling] the stories of the world's most original people," according to the show's official description.
Garth: The Road I'm On will focus on the singer's illustrious career; detailed via interviews with Brooks, his wife and fellow country music chart-topper Trisha Yearwood, and others that are close to the singer—including members of Brooks' original band, family and friends. While filming, the crew was given behind-the-scenes access to Brooks' current, massive 2019 Stadium Tour.
Before any announcement was made, Brooks knew that he already wanted A&E to air the documentary. According to The Boot, Brooks said, "If I was ever going to do a documentary on my life and music, I wanted A&E to do it,"
The singer then continued, "They have interviewed all the people who would know what the true stories are, so no matter how this turns out… I can't say it isn't the truth."
A&E's Biography Presents has previously covered many famous faces such as Chris Farley, Jeff Foxworthy and Farrah Fawcett.
The Secret History of Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places"
How He's Changed! Garth Brooks' Storied Career in Pictures:


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Obama, Barack
Hailed as a young Democratic star, he electrified the 2004 Democratic convention with his keynote address. In Feb., 2007, he became a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, ultimately securing a delegate majority after a prolonged primary contest with Senator Hillary Clinton. The first African American to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party, he chose Senator Joseph Biden as his running mate, and they subsequently defeated the Republican ticket of Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. Obama, who led the Democratic party to its largest national victory since the election of Jimmy Carter as president, became the first African American to be elected to the office.
Obama's selections for his cabinet and other high-level government posts were notable both because they were announced earlier than had been typical (in large part because economic difficulties and overseas conflicts necessitated having a cabinet in place as soon as possible) and because the persons he selected were prominent and highly experienced. His government was initially most strongly focused on measures intended to revive the U.S. financial system and economy, reeling from the most serious economic downtown since the early 1980s and the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. The measures, including a massive stimulus package and rescue plans for the financial and automobile industries and some homeowners, were projected to result in some of the largest U.S. budget deficits, as a proportion of GDP, since World War II; the 2009 deficit was $1.4 trillion.
Obama subsequently sought congressional passage of a health-care insurance overhaul, which quickly surpassed other issues to become the most politically contentious of his first year as president. Enactment of the legislation, which was designed to increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance, was finally achieved in Mar., 2010. Obama also secured passage (July, 2010) of an overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system; the law gave expanded tools to regulators to respond to crises similar to the those that occurred in 2008. By the end of 2010, however, the slow economic recovery and conservative reaction to his legislation had contributed to Republican victories, including winning control of the U.S. House, that promised to make the second half of his term more difficult. Nonetheless, with some Republican support he won enactment of additional legislation, including new stimulus measures, a compromise extension of the Bush tax cuts, and a food safety bill, in the lame-duck session. In 2011, however, he faced Republican demands for sizable cuts in the proposed budget to reduce the deficit, which resulted in the threat of a government shutdown until a compromise was reached in April. In mid-2011, however, a new confrontation over the same issues erupted when Congress was faced with passing a normally routine increase in the debt ceiling, and Republican demands subsequently restricted or derailed disaster-aid and other legislation. In May, 2012, he became the first U.S. president to support same-sex marriage.
In foreign policy, Obama broke with many aspects of the Bush administration's "war on terror," calling for a withdrawal of most troops from Iraq by Aug., 2010, the closure of the Guantánamo prison camp within a year (a goal he failed to achieve), the end of the use of interrogation methods denounced by many as torture, and a renewed focus on fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan (which led to an escalation in the number of U.S. forces there in 2010). His administration also suspended plans for deploying a ballistic missile defense system in E Europe, focusing instead on defending against shorter range missiles based in Iran. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oct., 2009, for his efforts to "strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." In Apr., 2010, the president signed the New START nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia; it replaced the START I treaty that had expired at the end of 2009. In 2011 his administration participated in the imposition of a UN no-fly zone during the anti-Qaddafi uprising in Libya. Also in 2011 Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. commandos in Pakistan. Obama subsequently announced a more rapid U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but in 2015 decided to keep at least 5,000 U.S. troops there into 2017.
In the 2012 presidential election, Obama defeated the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, despite a slow recovery that saw unemployment no lower than the level that had led to Obama's 2008 victory. The Democratic ticket, however, did win by a narrower margin than in 2008; Democrats also made modest gains in the Senate and House, but the House remained securely in Republican control. An attempt by Obama to win passage of a number of gun control measures in the wake of the Dec., 2012, elementary school killings in Newtown, Conn., proved (2013) unsuccessful.
The months before the health care changes took effect revealed significant problems with the federal website for the program and other issues, which created political problems for the president in late 2013, though by mid-2014 the situation appeared to have improved markedly. Also in late 2013, Congress agreed to a two-year budget deal, in a significant change from prior years. In 2014 Russia's seizure of Crimea and support for Ukrainian rebels led the Obama administration to adopt sanctions against Russia, and the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq led to U.S. air attacks there. The Republican wins in the 2014 elections, including control of the Senate, were generally seen as representing a rejection of Obama (whose administration had suffered from domestic and international difficulties in 2013–14) or unhappiness with the economy, rather than as broad support for Republican policies.
Obama subsequently sought to ease immigration enforcement for law-abiding illegal aliens who were long-term U.S. residents and also had children who were U.S. citizens, but his executive order was blocked by an appeals court. He restored (2015) diplomatic relations with Cuba and called for Congress to consider ending the embargo. In July, 2015, the administration signed multinational agreement with Iran that placed limits on its nuclear program in return for easing economic sanctions; the deal was implemented in Jan., 2015, but new sanctions, relating to Iran's ballistic missile program, were imposed the same month. In Feb., 2016, a trade deal involving 12 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), was signed by U.S. and other negotiators. The TPP was subsequently subjected to political criticism and denounciation during the 2016 elections, and President Trump withdrew (2017) from the TPP. Also in 2016, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to act on the president's nomination (March) of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, hoping that victory in the 2016 presidential election would permit a Republican to nominate a justice. Obama's last months in office were particularly marked by the establishment of a number of notable landscapes and other natural and historic features as national monuments. Although the economy steadily improved during Obama's tenure as president, unevenness in that growth contributed to several relatively close wins in swing states that secured the presidency for Republican Donald Trump in 2016.
His wife,
See his
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies


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Just in time for the Hadoop Summit, we've updated some pieces of LucidDB to be able to do "more" with the Hive driver. We've had the ability to connect and query data inside of Hive for about a year already. The initial implementation allowed people to:
- Use Hive for it's massive scalability, distributed data processing capabilities.
Hive is great at processing huge amounts of data. It's scales to hundreds of servers, and has a bunch of fantastic features for structured and semi structured data processing, fault tolerance, etc. Hive is a great way to do heavy lifting sorting through petabytes of data to arrive at some interesting, pre-aggregated datasets. - Cache the output of Hive views into LucidDB.
Now when we're talking about taking the output of Hive views into LucidDB, we're not talking about SMALL datasets (10k rows) we're talking about 50 or 100, or 500 million rows. Some might think that number is small (by Hive standards it often is) and others might think that's big (our entire DW is only 200 million rows). However, LucidDB has provided the ability to draw in data from Hive via easy MERGE/INSERT statements.
You can see some background on this integration that has been functional since August 2010 on Eigenpedia: http://pub.eigenbase.org/wiki/LucidDbHive
Also, a video I recorded last year showing the basic integration: (THIS IS NOT NEW!!!!).
Why the blog now? We've done a couple of things over the past while.
- We've done some work on LucidDB (yet to be committed and will be a POST 0.9.4 commit) that allows the use of Hives, well, somewhat unique driver. Hive's driver has a bunch of quirks in terms of metadata, etc that we're now recognizing and using properly over in LucidDB.
- We've updated to the 0.7.0 release. We're now ready to go with the latest and great Hive features.
- We've enabled some pushdowns to work to allow for easier day to day loading of LucidDB tables from Hive, along with a limited workload of Ad Hoc SQL access.
Our vision for Big Data dictates the need for:
- Live, real time, per query access to the Big Data system that is useful and practical (ie, filters, etc).
This means that you need to be able to allow the user, via simple Parameter or simply by hitting a different schema or table access to the live data.
- Easy, full ANSI SQL access to high performance, low latency, aggregated data.
Dashboards need results that come back in seconds, not minutes. LucidDB and the data cached there provide a great "front end" for easily doing real BI work on top of data that sits inside Hive.
We've updated our connectors to allow some filtering/projection pushdowns to work with Hive.
Here's a simple example. We have a report or dashboard which is looking for only a subset of data in Hive. We want to allow the filtering of data to occur and for Hive to receive the filtering from our OLAP/Dashboard.
By default LucidDB will read the entire table and do all SQL functions over in our
However, pulling over the entire table is really not going to work well for us. This would really be the worst of both worlds; you'd be better off just querying Hive directly. However, luckily we've enabled some pushdowns be pushed down to Hive.
Notice that the condition IN( values ) is being pushed down to the remote Hive server.
Let's try something a bit more complex!
Currently, we're able to push down most filters and projections.
Let's take now take the use case where we're trying to ONLY UPDATE records that have been updated since the last time we checked (ID > 97). More likely the key that we'd use to do this push down filter would be a date, but you can simply use your imagination.
Consider the following SQL:
merge into hive_test."local_POKES" l
using (select * from hive_test.pokes where "foo" > 97)
ON l."foo" = p."foo"
when matched then update set "bar" = p."bar"
when not matched then insert ("foo", "bar") values (p."foo", p."bar");
This SQL is a typical "incremental" load from a remote system. Syntactically a little dense, but it's actually a VERY high performance method to load directly into LucidDB often eliminating the need entirely to draw the data through an intermediate server and process (ETL Tool).
Our enhancements allow the Hive portion to be pushed down. Hive will ONLY return values greater than 97 and we'll simply intelligently keep any changed records "up to date" in LucidDB for reporting.
Many of these changes will be in a patched version of LucidDB; we'll make this patched release available to any customers who want these optimizations available, immediately for use with Hive. Let us know what you think by joining this conversation at the LucidDB forums: Hive Connector Pushdown
In a subsequent blog we'll cover how to now match up data coming from Hive (or CouchDB) with data in other systems for reporting.


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King David's advisers urged him to clasp a young virgin to his bosom. Pythagoras advocated a diet of acorns, fruit, and grains, while Sir Francis Bacon favored anointing the skin with ointments and pomades. Nowadays scientists turn to fruit flies for clues about how to prolong life. Michael Rose, an evolutionary biologist the University of California at Irvine, has recently reported some eyebrow-raising success. In his lab he has doubled the fruit-fly life span and believes the lessons he's learned will enable humans to do the same. He discussed his research with Discover associate editor Josie Glausiusz.
How did you coax these fruit-flies to live so long? By tricking natural selection. I wait till they're older before letting them reproduce. The ones who do are those that have already proven they can live that long and have the physiological wherewithal to reproduce. Multiple generations of this procedure makes them live better than twice as long.
Are they immortal? The flies in my lab potentially can live forever. But of course they don't, because they have a high likelihood of dying by accident; getting stuck in the medium and falling over face-first and drowning— the regular stuff.
What have fruit-flies taught you about human aging? The most important thing is that it tells us that aging is in no sense any basic feature of cell biochemistry. There are lots of organisms that have the same kinds of cells that we have but don't have any aging at all— organisms like hydra, sea anemones, some types of flatworm, quite a few grasses and shrub species. Aging just isn't some God-given inevitable thing. It is something you can change and control.
Why do humans age but sea anemones not? To age means that you are less and less able to survive and reproduce with time. [Hydra] reproduce by splitting, so they survive indefinitely. We reproduce with tiny little gametes— the cells that carry out our Darwinian mission. The rest of us is dispensable, a disposable shell. What natural selection is saying to us as we get older [and past reproductive age] is, "Frankly, I don't give a damn about you any more," like Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind. So we get progressively more and more decrepit.
How might humans live longer than we do now? Say that we find out that a particular enzyme, like superoxide dismutase, [a scavenger of destructive free radicals] needs to be very active in order for you to live longer. Well, once we work out all of the details of dosage, then it might be that once every month you go to your physician and he injects you with the enzyme, which circulates around in your body to help slow your aging process or reverse it. And so on with all of the other possible substances that one might use.
How likely is such a scenario? I'm not saying any of this is magic. I'm just saying it's something you could do. And I really would hate for that to be represented as my immediate medical advice to anyone. What we know of aging is that it is very complex, and you want to approach any intervention with great care. Because I am not an advocate of the quick fix.
Do you want to live to be 200 years old? I don't wake up in the morning and think about how I'm going to live longer. I should explain that unlike most people from this field, I did not start working in this field for my personal longevity. I only started working in it because my advisor told me to. For me it's an interesting scientific and technical puzzle, and not a personal quest.
Is there any advantage to living any longer than we do now? There are two answers to that question. Mozart and Jimi Hendrix. Mozart died at 35. Jimi Hendrix died at 27. If Mozart had lived another twenty years, I would have a still larger music collection, and the same thing with Jimi Hendrix. On the other hand, there's probably not much point in having mathematicians live past the age of 40, or scientists live past the age of 50. Both mathematicians and scientists do very little that's important past those ages. There are other occupations, like novelists and historians, where you do better the older you get. So for those occupations, a greater life span is all to the good.
Couldn't life get a bit boring if you lived indefinitely? What if we lose all our faculties? I'm the wrong person to ask that question, because my point of view is that my life has never been boring. [As far as faculties go], my fruit-flies that have postponed aging have enhanced performance. What they can do when normal flies are long-dead is absolutely amazing. These flies are fornicating like crazy. When normal aging flies have just completely given up, they're going nuts. They can fly around and walk around much better. They're just totally dynamic and vigorous, when normal flies are barely moving around.
How do people respond to your ideas about extending human life? There are all kinds of people who are opposed to us doing anything. The Federal Government has this need for us to die on our due date, so you don't bankrupt Social Security or Medicare. And I have on a number of occasions heard people give very moving addresses as to why we should die as soon as possible. I think the phrase that most stuck in my mind was "So that we can know God's love sooner." And let me just say for the record, I am all for those people dying. They can go ahead. I just know other people who don't want to die, and least of all by the horrible and unattractive process of aging, and I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be allowed to go on living.
Is there any limit to the human life span? No. Not at all. In fact, I have been quoted as saying that the limit of the human life span is the limit of human technology.
What is your greatest fear? In common with many scientists--especially evolutionary biologists— my greatest fear is of a world dominated by superstition, in which people are told what to believe, with the threat of torture and execution if they don't believe what they are supposed to believe. In other words, the Middle Ages.


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JPD Fujizakura Sinking 44 lbs.
Extreme Health with Probiotics
This food is mixed with some special ingredients, and it includes seaweed extract, B-glucagon and yeast cell wall, which is immunostimulant. These components stimulate immune system and accelerate immune response.
When fish have stress by environmental changes, please use this food. And this food is suitable for maintenance for koi show.
Because this pellet keeps shape for long in the water, this food doesn't deprave the water quality.
Health Food
Stress is one of the causes of disease. This food is enriched with staple vitamin C which reduces stress. Therefore this food protects koi from a pathogen by an effect of vitamin C.
Colour Enhancer
Astaxanthin makes red redder and vitamin C makes white whiter. These ingredients make a shiny beautiful body. Finally, koi will take on natural beautiful colour.


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In 2010, we launched the ASX, an all-new compact SUV, at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland.
The ASX was designed to seat 5 adults. It followed in the footsteps of the larger and redesigned Outlander, a mid-size crossover, and featured Auto Stop & Go. This innovative technology shuts off the engine at traffic stops, cutting fuel waste and CO2 emissions without disrupting the electronic systems.


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Corning® Lambda™ EliteTouch™ pipettors have been engineered to provide the highest levels of ergonomics, accuracy, and precision. Lightweight construction, contoured shape of the handle, and 4-digit counter were designed to ensure comfortable pipetting. All pipettors feature smooth plunger movement and extremely low pipetting forces to reduce the wrist strain and fatigue (RSI). Colored pushbuttons (included) can help define user or application for sample safety and lower risk of cross contamination.
- Ergonomic handle design for perfect fit for both right and left hand
- Convenient one-hand volume setting with auto-lock system prevents accidental volume change during work
- 4-digit counter for greater precision, perfectly positioned for visibility at all times
- Single-channel pipettors are compatible with very narrow tubes
- Fully autoclavable and UV-resistant for sample protection against contaminations
- The multi-channel shafts retract individually for perfect tip loading and easier tip ejection
- Easy in-lab calibration helps you quickly adjust your pipettor to various liquid types
- Individually tested and supplied with a certificate of quality
Learn more from Europe, Middle East, and Africa


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Developers can now sign up for a private preview of enhanced chat capabilities coming to GitHub Copilot, the "AI pair programmer" that works in the Visual Studio 2022 IDE and in Visual Studio Code.
GPT-4, the advanced generative AI model from Microsoft partner OpenAI, is now powering the new GitHub Copilot X and the Azure OpenAI Service.
Microsoft shipped TypeScript 5.0 with new features claimed to make the language smaller, simpler and faster.
A new tool that can generate code is being previewed in the Visual Studio Code Insiders channel seeks to ease the tedious data preparation process that data scientists need to go through to get good data for successful analysis projects.
Microsoft has open sourced an internal incubation project that can help developers integrate cutting-edge AI models quickly and easily into their apps.
Power Platform "is reinventing software development with AI-powered no-code development."
There are a raft of minor improvements for the brand-new Visual Studio 2022 v17.6 Preview 2, with accompanying release notes revealing that the IDE is ditching the baked-in Edge Developer Tools
Blazor QuickGrid is "built to be a simple and convenient way to display your data, while still providing powerful features like sorting, filtering, paging and virtualization."
Prompt engineering has recently become popularized with the advent of cutting-edge generative AI constructs based on the GPT-3 series of large language models (LLMs) created by Microsoft partner OpenAI.
In announcing the latest Visual Studio Code update last week, Microsoft said the new profiles functionality was one of the all-time most-requested Visual Studio Code features, allowing for unique configurations for different projects and workspaces.
ChatGPT, the hottest tech in the industry, is now available in the Azure OpenAI Service as a preview, Microsoft announced today, March 9.
Following new API access from ChatGPT creator OpenAI, new projects are springing up demonstrating how to use the AI-supercharged chatbot in Blazor and other projects, with at least one Blazor demo using the brand-new "turbo" model.
TypeScript ranked fourth on the survey-based report when respondents were asked "What are the top 3 skills software engineers should learn/know right now in your opinion?"
Python, the dominant language for VS Code developers, just received a new update, along with a GitHub post that explains its popularity while also detailing how to enact an easter egg "inside joke" with a bit of code.
Microsoft's latest update to the opens-source-based Visual Studio Code editor features a raft of minor improvements, including improved IntelliSense for the popular Pylance language server for Python coding.
"It's just been difficult to get prioritized."
"Our new unit test generation capability uses cutting-edge AI technology to generate unit tests for your code automatically."
The first preview of Visual Studio 2022 17.6 boosts GitHub integration and also sees AI-assisted IntelliCode instantly offering up real-world API code examples -- no more context switching required.
"We appreciate that the developer community is getting value out of Stack Overflow and the content that has already been created by hundreds of thousands of developers."
With AI all the rage these days in the development space and elsewhere, Microsoft touted new machine-learning-powered intent-based suggestions in this week's release of Visual Studio 2022 17.5.
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Complete la encuesta: la ciudad desea su opinión sobre los posibles cambios en Reid Park y el Reid Park Zoo
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Few rivalries in the media world match those of cable operators and broadcasters. Since the first cable regulation by the FCC to prevent cable operators from importing blacked out sports events and �distant signals� that threatened local broadcast content back in the 1960s, broadcasters and cable operators have constantly sought regulatory advantage over one another. Broadcasters once ruled video as its unchallenged masters. Then came cable, which became the dominant platform for delivery of video. But broadcasting continues to aggregate mass audiences and produce more popular programming. Despite all the yapping about how no one can tell broadcast and cable apart anymore, neither one can survive without the other, but both have radically different interests. As a result, the broadcasters and the cable operators, and therefore their trade associations, are constantly at loggerheads.
The fact that Comcast, after acquiring NBC's broadcast stations, will be eligible to join the National Association of Broadcasters, underscores just how radically and completely the proposed Comcast acquisition of NBC extends Comcast's reach into every sector of communication. In ideological terms, it is rather like Vatican City joining the Arab League. But that's not the only powerful trade association Comcast would now be eligible to join. Comcast will also be able to join the MPAA. Depending on how it develops its broadcast spectrum and other wireless assets, it could join CTIA and other wireless trade associations. These, of course, join the already impressive list of trade associations Comcast already belongs to as the largest broadband access provider, one of the largest residential phone companies, purchasers of telecommunications equipment, etc.
So I propose a new metric for measuring antitrust impact of mergers, the uniquely Washington �Trade Association Scale.� How many trade associations will you qualify for after the merger. If the number is too high, that shows you are getting into far too many lines of business to be healthy, because you have too much influence on everybody else's business. And on the Trade Association Scale, the Comcast/NBC merger ranks a 10 out of 10.
More below . . .


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Black Bean and Corn Relish by Kate
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well
2 c. frozen corn, thawed (or use the kernels from 2-3 fresh ears to make enough)
1 avocado, diced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, diced
1-2 t. fresh grated lime zest
Juice of half a lime
1 T. cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Mix all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl. Chill before serving. Also tastes great on tortilla chips.


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I found this video on the DrinkBoy forum this weekend, posted sometime last year. Those of you who have been reading for a while will know that I always love a good instructional video, as I've remarked upon time and again.
To recap, here's the recipe:
1. Chill an 8-ounce cocktail glass.
2. Pick your nose, and wipe the resulting findings on the back of your hand.
3. In a mixing glass, add one ounce of Bacardi rum.
Note: rum is a liquor that comes in many different colors.
4. Add two ounces of sweet-and-sour mix.
5. Wipe nose on back of hand for four full seconds.
6. Shake drink gently.
7. Talk about difference between fresh lime juice and sour mix while drink melts in shaker.
Note: fresh limes are no longer used.
8. Strain drink into chilled glass.
9. Dump any excess in sink.
10. Enjoy!


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'Girl Dad' Kobe Bryant Video Goes Viral After Anchor's Stunning Tribute
This viral tribute to "girl dad" Kobe Bryant will bring you to tears.
Though many celebrities and fans have shared stories of past interactions with the NBA star, Elle Duncan's beautiful and heartwrenching tribute proved he died doing what he loved most... being a dad.
On Monday (January 27), the SportsCenter anchor shared an emotional tribute, recounting a specific moment she had with Bryant backstage for an ESPN event two years ago. She recalled how a 30-minute conversation with him showcased his love for his daughters and how much he cherished being a father to girls.
"I saw him and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, that's Kobe. I've gotta get a picture for the 'gram.' I didn't get it for a few minutes because, as I approached him, he immediately commented on my rather large, eight-month pregnant belly," she shared. "'A girl,' I said and then he high-fives me: 'Girls are the best.'"
Duncan continued, "I asked him for advice on raising girls seeing as though he quite famously had three at the time and he said, 'Just be grateful that you've been given that gift because girls are amazing.'"
"He said that his wife Vanessa really wanted to try again for a boy but was sort of jokingly concerned that it would be another girl," she said. "I was like, 'Four girls, are you joking? Like, what would you think? How would you feel?' And without hesitation, he said, 'I would have five more girls if I could. I'm a girl dad.'"
"When it came to sports, he said that his oldest daughter was an accomplished volleyball player and that the youngest was a toddler, so TBD," Duncan recalled. "But that middle one, he said, 'was a monster. She's a beast. She's better than I was at her age. She's got it.' That middle one, of course, was Gigi."
"When I reflect on this tragedy and that half an hour that I spent with Kobe Bryant two years ago," she said, choking back tears. "I suppose that the only small source of comfort for me is knowing that he died doing what he loved the most: being a dad, being a girl dad."
Watch Duncan's touching Kobe Bryant tribute in full, below:
Bryant died on Sunday morning (January 26) when the helicopter he was flying in crashed. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was among the victims, along with seven other people.


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Taco Bell introduces taco with chicken shell
Taco Bell is now selling tacos made with shells made of chicken, Foodbeast reports.
The Naked Crispy Chicken Taco has been spotted at a few Taco Bell locations in California.
Foodbeast describes the taco as "a breaded white-meat chicken shell that's filled with lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese and an avocado ranch sauce."
The taco is for sale at a location in Lost Hills, CA for $2.49 and in Bakersfield, CA for $2.99.
There is no word yet on if and when the Naked Crispy Chicken Taco will be available at other locations.


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IBM's Linux Wristwatch
If we were to ask you, what are the two things that can get most men's adrenaline rushing, you probably will guess the first one right. Yes, it is 'women'.. and the second ?.... Wrong, it is neither booze nor the thought of gambling a night away at a casino. It is 'Mail' in their inbox. Research and statistical reports of men surfing the Internet support this finding. As for us, in addition to the above two factors "learning new technology" gets us all pepped up too.
And talking of new technology, among all of the products showcased at the Bang!inux conference, one particular innovation that stood out among the rest was the Linux Wristwatch from the research stables of IBM. You might have heard about this stunning little gadget from the big blue, which weighs just a little more than 1.5 ounces (approx. 44 gms.) and runs Linux. You might have even read the press release on it. But what we bring you today is an article based on an informal chat with a part of the research team at IBM's Bangalore research center.
IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'.
(Image taken from IBM's web-site)
The technical specifications for the wristwatch running Linux are as follows:
* Kernel: 2.2.1
* X11R6 for the GUI env.
* Size:
Watch:56mm wide x 48mm long x 12.25mm thick
(2.20 inches x 1.89 inches x 0.48 inches)
MotherBoard: 27.5 mm wide x 35.3 mm long
(1.08 inches x 39 inches)
* Weight: 44 Gms ( Approx. 1.5 ounces)
* Touch sensitive display
* 8MB Flash
* IrDA
* Radio Frequency Wireless connectivity
* Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery


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Hot Tub Guide, your best online hot tub information resource. We're dedicated to guiding you, the potential spa buyer, toward finding the best hot tub to meet your needs. We know that hot tubs are an important investment and we want to help you explore the benefits, features and styles that most appeal to you before making that investment. It's best to compare hot tubs, investigate your options, and make a well-informed buying decision.
As with new cars, hot tubs are expensive, complex pieces of machinery that should last a long time. That's why it's important to investigate the manufacturer, the process used to build the hot tub and its components, and the dealer to ensure you buy the best hot tub. You'll also want to take a very close look at the hot tub warranty. Be sure to read the fine print. Also remember that a hot tub warranty is only as good as the company's ability to stand behind it.
You'll want to shop around to ensure that you've identified a spa with all the features that fit your personal needs. At hottubguide.com, you can use our Build Your Dream Spa tool and Hot Tub Guide Checklist to help you make the best choice. Beyond that, you'll want to prepare for the delivery, installation, and ongoing maintenance.
We know you've got questions.
Why are full-foam insulated hot tubs better than one that's not? Do hot tubs require any special plumbing? How hard is it to maintain hot tubs? How do I know if it will fit into my backyard? Do I have to lay concrete or prepare a special place?
We've got the answers.
Whether you're interested in hot tubs for socializing with family and friends, or because of the rejuvenating and naturally rehabilitative qualities of hydrotherapy, our experts have all the answers to your questions.
Get inspired to create your own backyard spa experience.


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Exceptional GolfUnique in
& Every Way
With a 4 Star rating by Golf Digest and recognized as a "Best Places to Play," PipeStone is a favorite in the Dayton, Ohio area as it offers a beautiful yet challenging layout. Renowned for the best greens in the Miami Valley, this Arthur Hills design features rolling fairways, undulating greens, and over 100 feet in elevation changes. PipeStone is a perfect fit for casual golf and a great place for events and banquets of any variety. Come enjoy our friendly service where you will truly be appreciated.


text:
OpenShot 2.4.2 Released | More Effects, More Stable, More Fun!
Geschrieben von Releases.
am inHappy summer! Version 2.4.2, the latest and greatest OpenShot Video Editor is now available (after a long wait), and we have lots of great improvements to share! We have exciting new effects, tons of bug fixes, and more stability and performance enhancements! Let's dive right in!


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Ran HaCohen
Israeli academic and translator
Ran HaCohen (born 1964) is a university teacher in Israel who is known for his strong criticism of Israel's policies. He works as a literary translator of German, English and Dutch and as a literary critic for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, occasionally writing on the libertarian Antiwar.com website.
This article on an author is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it. |
edit- Ramallah is not Auschwitz. Israel is not the Third Reich. We have no death camps and we haven't massacred one third of the Palestinian population in gas chambers. Therefore, everything we do is quite all right. We may fill the occupied territories with tear gas and blood, we may kill and injure and torture and blackmail and dispossess, we may surround millions by electric fences and tanks in tiny enclaves, we may hold them under siege and daily bombing, we may make pregnant women walk to hospitals, and we shoot ambulances too, don't we. But as long as we fall even an inch short of the atrocities of Nazi Germany, it's all fine and good, and don't you dare make the comparison.
- "The Auschwitz Logic", Antiwar.com (2002-04-01)
External links
edit- "Letter from Israel", HaCohen's column on Antiwar.com


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An Introduction to Our Monthly SEO Backlinks Package for Hemp and CBD Shops and Brands
My Approach to Vape and CBD SEO Work
Before I jump into the details, I wanted to take a moment to talk about my approach to SEO work. My package is very transparent and I signpost exactly what you will receive. There are no hidden fees or catches. All of the work will be carried out by my team of ten people. You will receive a very personal and bespoke SEO service. I have created a frequently asked questions section at the bottom of the page in case you need some clarification about this SEO package. You can click on each site link to explore each site. The link will open in a new tab.
What you will receive with your Monthly SEO Backlinks Package
Our Previous Clients
- Plain Jane Hemp
- Xpress CBD Botanicals
- Faith CBD
- Bear State CBD
- CBD Hive
- 10 CBD and Hemp Farms (USA and Canada)
- The Good Budz
- CBD Geeks
- Vaping Zone
- Los Liquidos
- Moon Mountain
- OG Vape Store
- Next Day Vapes
- Pink Vapes
- Regenifi Naturals
- Vape Goons
- Solace Vapor
- The Joint Gallery
- Try Plain Jane
- Vape Salts
- Vape North
- Vape Milk
- Vape Juice Depot
- Vapoorzon
- Xpress CBD Botanicals
- XXL Vape
- IE Vapor
Vape and CBD Backlinks SEO Package
The below CBD SEO package is pretty much all that you need to start ranking your CBD, Hemp or Vape website on the search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo and others. The pricing is indicated for each set of backlink categories so you can buy whatever you want or alternatively, you can buy the entire package at a significantly discounted rate. I recommend that you purchase the entire package for the best results because it will provide you with a one-stop-shop for your website's SEO and will provide you with a great amount of backlink diversity.
Below is my slightly improved strategy for ranking on the search engines. I have used this strategy with some of the leading vape and cbd companies and this strategy works wonders every single time. I have also partnered up with some big companies and have gained access to their resources which are otherwise closed to the public and most people. This package is insanely powerful and will definitely allow you to dominate the search engines with relative ease.
Our monthly CBD SEO Backlinks package is created for all types of CBD and hemp related companies. This CBD backlinks package focuses on the off-page element of SEO. As you may have noticed, the CBD market has virtually exploded quite recently and almost everyone is trying to tap into it. Unlike vaping, CBD products have a much wider appeal in terms of the target clientele and therefore, the market is extremely lucrative. Having a great hemp or CBD website is not enough. In order to get more site traffic and generate more sales, you need to invest more into search engine optimisation. Backlinks play a very important role in how well a site ranks on the search engines. Each backlink translates into a vote of confidence for the search engines who will then rank your website higher for your set of chosen keywords (keywords that are used as anchors). However, not all backlinks are equal and it is important to ensure that each backlink comes from a CBD or at least vape related site or a resource. Also, it is important to pay attention to the domain metrics to ensure that your backlink is coming from a clean and trusted resource (good trust flow) and a powerful domain authority (MOZ metric).
All links are of the highest quality and will provide your website with a massive SEO boost.
What you should expect from this Vape and CBD SEO Package
- Improved rankings for your chosen set of keywords
- More organic traffic
- More sales
- An improvement in your website's domain authority and stats
The aim of our CBD SEO Backlinks Package is to rank your CBD website higher on the search engines for your set of chosen keywords. By creating quality links on CBD-related resources, we will begin to rank your website for a set of your chosen keywords. As your site moves up in ranks for various keywords, your traffic should begin to increase and subsequently, you should be generating more sales. Once we have created all the backlinks for your site, we will power those links up using tier 2 links such as forum posts, blog comments, wiki articles, social bookmarks, etc. The idea is to strengthen those backlinks and increase the amount of juice that they pass to your website.
Guest Post Backlinks on Vape and CBD Sites
I can create do follow and permanent backlinks inside these vape and CBD blogs. These are the best type of contextual and niche-related backlinks that will help you to rank for your set of keywords. I will place a backlink to your website inside an existing article on the below sites. Currently, the below sites are available for guest posting:
Price per site = $50
Listings on Vape and CBD Shop Directories
You would need to list your business on these directories and I will give you lifetime membership, which means that your listings would never be removed. These cbd and vape shop directory listings are great for generating direct and relevant traffic to your website.
https://allcbdstores.com (CBD directory)
https://allvapestores.com (vape shop directory)
Lifetime listing = $100 per site.
Feature in Vape and CBD Magazines
Our team can review your CBD products and feature them in the below magazines. For this, you would need to send us your full product line:
This is a great way of increasing your brand's awareness and also maximising your site traffic and sales. You would also receive backlinks inside each post.
Price / site = $200
Guest Post Links on Popular Sites
I could also create guest post type backlinks on the below sites which have some blog posts on CBD topics. These sites have excellent domain metrics and traffic which could help you to attract quality traffic.
https://theeliquidboutique.co.uk (vape shop)
Price = $200
https://peachesandscreams.co.uk (has a designated cbd, vape and beauty sections under their main blog)
Price = $400
https://wowitloveithaveit.com (marketing site that features vape, hemp and CBD section in their blog)
Price = $200
https://latestlawjobs.com (legal recruitment site that also has a blog devoted to vape, cannabis and CBD laws and regulations).
Price = $200
https://blockchainlifemag.com (technology magazine with a CBD and Vape section)
Price = $100
https://fashionlifemag.com (a fashion magazine with many different sections)
Price = $100
https://bit.ly/2YO6pkT (forum)
Price = $50
https://creativebeartech.com (a software and B2B marketing site)
Price = $100
CBD or Vape Blog Backlinks
I can create backlinks on up to 3,000 CBD or Vape Blogs with insanely high domain authority and excellent stats.
Here are a few examples of the blogs:
Price = $750
Banner Ads on Vape and CBD Shop Directories and Magazines
I could publish your banner ads on the below sites for an entire year. This is great for brand exposure and direct traffic.
https://cbdlifemag.com (Online CBD Magazine)
Here are the banner options: https://cbdlifemag.com/advertise-with-us/
https://vapelifemag.com (Online Vape Magazine)
Here are the banner options: https://vapelifemag.com/advertise-banner-ads/
https://allcbdstores.com (CBD directory)
https://allvapestores.com (vape shop directory)
Price = $250 / site for the entire year
Forum Posts
I could register and post on around 10,000 popular forums. This is a very good way of generating traffic for your website as well as gaining some backlink diversity. The forum list varies as I am constantly adding new forums to my list.
Price = $400
Backlink Indexing with the Search Engines
I will send all the backlinks to an indexer to get the search engines to crawl and index them. All backlinks are drip-fed to the search engines to make everything appear as natural as possible.
Indexing = $300
How to Order
If you want to order individual services from the above list, please get in touch with me via our contact us page. You can contact me on Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, Email or a contact form submission.
If you want to order the entire package, simply check out and send me all the required information via email.
What I would need from you
1) Your Website URL (Mandatory)
2) Up to 50 keywords you are looking to rank for (one per line, no commas or separators) (Mandatory)
3) If you would like to publish your own articles by way of guest posts, you are more than welcome to do so. Publishing your own articles has the added advantage of allowing you to customise your anchor text. Otherwise, if I am placing a backlink inside an existing article, I will use an existing keyword inside the article for your anchor since I do not want to compromise the quality of each article by stuffing it with random keywords such as "Buy CBD oil UK" or "Buy CBD Gummies Miami". If you are going to send me your own articles, please ensure that they are at least 1,000 words in length, 100% unique, written to the highest quality of English and are not sales-driven (informative guides or reviews as opposed to a sales pitch). (Optional)
4) Please register with allcbdstores.com and allvapestores.com and submit your listing via the 30 day package. Do let me know your business name so that I can upgrade your listing. Please ensure that you complete your listing as accurately as possible and be as complete as you can. (Mandatory)
5) Banner ads (800x800px and 1800 x 1000px) (Mandatory)
6) Once the guest posts are published, please link to them on your site/blogs and maybe add "as featured in" section and add all the logos of the magazines, directories and sites. This will help you to build trust with your clients. You should also share the guest posts on social media to drive more traffic and help with the search engine indexing process.
Once all the work has been completed, you will receive a full report with the backlink urls. The work will take about a month and will be undertaken by a team of ten people.
Frequently Asked Questions
My Budget is much lower. Can I buy a smaller Package?
Of course. You can simply pick and choose the services that you need. All the pricing is indicated.
Does this package for for vape as well as CBD sites?
Yes. This package works for both, CBD and vape sites. The line between CBD and vape products is becoming very blurred as a lot of vape shops are now sellng CBD products and even have separate CBD products shelves.
Is this Vape and CBD SEO Package Safe?
Yes. This Hemp SEO package has been tried and tested on many sites and it works perfectly every time. All vape and CBD sites are hosted on different servers and have unique IP addresses. Most of the servers and IP addresses are based in the UK and the United States.
How often should I order this CBD SEO package?
I would recommend that you order it once a month.
Do you own all the vape and CBD sites?
No. I have special agreements with these sites to post content to them. I give each site a cut.
I do not want to buy the entire package. Can I buy individual services?
Absolutely. Simply pick and choose the services that you need.
Will this Vape and Hemp SEO Service work well for a new site?
Certainly. This SEO service works very well with new and existing CBD and vape shops.
Where are you based?
Our team is located in different corners of the world, including the UK, USA and the Baltic States.
My site is not in English. Will your CBD SEO Service work for me?
Absolutely. This service works for all languages. Of course, the content of the articles would be in English as this is our main language.
- A new survey reveals – the pandemic has increased CBD use - March 30, 2021
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- UK-based hedge fund acquires celebrity fashion brand Dimepiece in $50 million deal - March 18, 2021


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Monday, July 30, 2012
Evan Soltas, a student at Princeton University, posts on his Blog HERE
"A New Generation of Econ Data?"
the beginning, there was no economics data. Greats like Adam Smith wrote
treatises on political economy in the equivalent of near-total darkness. Later
economists such as Vilfredo Pareto and Alfred Marshall introduced mathematical
foundations, changing the direction of what had been a very qualitative
philosophical endeavor. After the Great Depression, Paul Samuelson and John
Hicks consolidated Keynes' work into the modern field of macroeconomics -- and
they received critical (and I might argue significantly under-appreciated)
support from econometricians and statisticians like Simon Kuznets."
found this article by Evan Soltas interesting, though my comments are directed at this first
am not so sure that Adam Smith and contemporaries wrote "in the equivalent of
near-total darkness", though I get what he means.
were no systematic treatises on political economy on hand; there was quite a
large pamphlet-size literature on economic subjects written in the 17th-18th
centuries, of which Yale (I think) has assembled over 4,000 pieces available
(now) for consultation, most of which were not known to Smith (and probably not known en masse to others. In 1767, Sir John Stuart, a recently
returned Jacobite exile, published his 2-volume, Principles of Political Economy,
which we know Smith had read, but he did not mention it in Wealth Of Nations.* Two further sources can be traced from
Smith. First was Cantillon's
privately circulated thesis (1735), mentioned by Smith; the other was Turgot's
more substantial anonymous publication, considered by some scholars to be
previous to WN.**
mathematisation of political economy was of mixed blessing. It cleared up the fuzziness of language
at an eventual cost of removing political economy from contact with
reality. Statistics was also a new
subject in the late 18th century (see my history of
statistics: "An Invitation to Statistics", Wiley, 1984 – Amazon now sells it for 1c [!]).
History of economics may be bit like the history of astronomy; both subjects
started with observations melded with a few old concepts; then the concepts took over,
and the real world made to fit the new concepts.
the case of astronomy this hindered knowledge as the religious concepts of the
earth and the heavens circulating the sun ruled supreme as the word of God, until ever improving ongoing
observations challenged the concepts, which, once they proved overwhelming, rescued astronomy from rigid religious concepts.
is going through a stage of the dominance of new concepts, such as theories of homo
Economicus with rational humans making rational choices beautifully accounted
for by pure maths, which had overwhelmed the political economy of Smith's times. Maths has taken over; quantitative work
– including statistics of behaviour and tests of rational concepts in
behavioural games - have kept the debate about the real world alive.
this process, Smith's ideas are still worth studying, provided we stick to what
he was writing and not to how modern ideas have allegedly made them redundant
historically. Take, for example,
Smith's limited and primitive ideas on productive/unproductive labour. In modern GNP work his distinction is
disregarded as not precise enough.
Yet it keeps rising in modern dialogues. Pure government expenditure does not have the same productive
effect of market expenditure; the former has to be replaced pound for pound
from taxation and borrowing. Market activity reproduces itself pound for pound, plus additional pounds in the form of
profits. Smith was drawing this
distinction which exists though it was not clear enough theoretically for quantification.
also was inconsistent and the margins were vague.
Government expenditure was not unproductive when it purchases goods and
services from private enterprises.
Take defence expenditures (the first duty of government). Defence suppliers receive revenues from
the government, and reproduce the costs of their defence services – they also make a
profit and pay their suppliers and the wages of their employees to stay in business. The defence departments pay their
soldiers and seamen, which is unproductive in Smith's sense as these forces do not generate a
revenue to cover their costs and the costs of their materials used in
defence, but they consume through markets, adding to local revenues. Much has been written and studied on local defence-sourced multipliers.
with his example of consumers spending money on wines and their dinners in
restaurants, hotels and theatre goers, seeking legal advice, and such
like. Consumers of these services do not
reproduce their expenditures – they consume them. However the restaurants, hotels, theatres, puppeteers,
lawyers – even Brothel keepers and the courtesans – are productive in Smith's sense. They receive incomes that reproduce
their costs plus profits.
is a muddle, true, as expressed in WN, but the point remains; those activities
that recover their costs plus a profit add to economic activity and those than
do not, do not. These last are the
necessary costs of an economy functioning; those that do recover their costs
plus a profit are the necessary revenues that enable an economy to continue and
to grow. It is not a GNP analysis as shown in the statistics. Smith's distinction is still worth understanding,
as are GNP/GDP statistics, and their derivation.
*Smith in
correspondence to Adam Ferguson.
Stuart made a case for mercantile tariffs and such like, and while Smith
knew him socially, they did not agree (politely). He told Ferguson that he had "confuted" all Stuart's
arguments in WN without mentioning "his" (Stuart's) name.
(It was considered
impolite in 18th-19th century literature to criticise
living persons by name – first and last letters with dashes in between were sometimes used instead Smith just left Stuart's name out, perhaps to save embarrassing friend).
* Turgot was a
senior state official in the French King's service and was near paranoid about anyone mentioning his name in view of the consequences. All printing in France was subject to bureaucratic censorship. Turgot often used aliases and also urged writers not to mention his
authorship ever. From textual evidence,
we know Smith used similar expressions from Turgot's main published work in
later editions, after the first edition of WN in 1776, and long after passages reproduced
in WN from his Lectures in Jurisprudence, 1762-63. Turgot had many ideas in advance of anybody else though he sometimes appeared to be quasi-Physiocratic.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Against the Invisible-Hand Only If It Gets Us Contracts
Zheng Yangpeng and Lu Yanyu
write in China Daily
"On right track for
growth model change"
"In an interview
with China Daily, Aeroe - whose organization is tasked with helping small
business in developing and transition-economy countries - said the Chinese
government's very visible hand on the economy, is working better than the
international market's often invisible, more natural influences in helping
companies here build their competitiveness around the world, and change their
"In my opinion, there is no invisible hand (in an
"It doesn't exist. For a well-functioning market, it is amazing
how many intelligent policies are needed," Aeroe said.
He said that the
government's tackling of issues "simultaneously from industrial
development to education to infrastructure to urbanization" has been well
planned and delivered, and in contrast to many Western economies, China's
evolution is being handled with "long-term vision" in mind, not
short-term gain."
When I read this
post earlier today, I thought that the challenge to the myth of the "invisible
hand" had reached mainland China.
This would be good news, but my rising euphoria was quickly tempered by
reading and noting who said this and what his reasoning may be.
after several visits to China, Anders Aeroe - a senior director of the World
Trade Organization-linked International Trade Centre - says that he thinks the
country remains firmly on track to successfully transform its manufacturing-led
growth model of the past 20 to 30 years, into a more sophisticated economy, led
by innovation and services.
an interview with China Daily, Aeroe - whose organization is tasked with
helping small business in developing and transition-economy countries - said
the Chinese government's very visible hand on the economy, is working better
than the international market's often invisible, more natural influences in helping
companies here build their competitiveness around the world, and change their
me cynical but can you spot what caused my excitement to cool? Look at the clues:
for business in China is not easy.
Especially when you represent a "organization … tasked with helping
small business in developing and transition-economy countries".
he's selling consultancy services to small businesses to help them in
"developing and transition economies", which is almost a perfect fit China – a "transition-economy" country if ever there was one. And one that has a state bureaucracy, via its national and
regional power centres, "tasked" by the political regime to carry out that
interview in China Daily is a PR job. Bureaucrats reading the piece, if they are unaware of Anders
Aeroe's visit, may seek him out, as might small ambitious business enquire of
the echelons of the State with which they are familiar.
Aeroe covers a political requirement – not mandatory but always helpful – he
does not criticize anybody. He
also praises what China is doing, hence does not threaten regime solidarity:
said that the government's tackling of issues simultaneously from
industrial development to education to infrastructure to urbanization "has
been well planned and delivered, and in contrast to many Western economies,
China's evolution is being handled with "long-term vision" in mind,
not short-term gain.
He said the "interplay between politics and economics"
in China has played a hugely beneficial part in changing that business and
economic model, and also reported that during his tour of the country he was
enormously impressed by the number and standard of business graduates from
"The interplay ... has certain advantages and allows China
to do certain things and help it move faster on its development path, which I
don't think has been seen in any places elsewhere in history," he said."
if that does not get him a banquet or two he is not trying. I am Aeroe does know what he is doing;
after all he "heads the ITC's key market development division", for which China is a
clear priority target, and he has to be good at his job to hold that portfolio.
It seems we shall have to wait a little longer for the penny to drop in
China that there is no "invisible hand" in a market economy in China or anywhere else; it is a fiction
pushed by economists sympathetic to bigger business when we were under threat from Soviet Russia, as you once were too, to win over our State bureaucrats in market economies to
the importance of leaving the market to bigger businesses. In China the story is inverted: use our
business special skills to improve what your bureaucrats are doing without an "invisible hand".
Friday, July 27, 2012
Cracks in the Invented Invisible Hand Consensus?
I posted the following short comment on Daniel Kuen's Blog, "Facts and
Other Stubborn Things" HERE
Daniel writes: "Did you know that Smith's invisible hand and
Arrow-Debreu General Equilibrium were the same thing?"
It is not clear to me just who Daniel in criticising
Daniel writes: "I don't see how you can read Smith as
implying some optimal general equilibrium. Smith argues that by pursuing
private interests, economic agents promote general welfare. This is obviously
true whether a "perfect" Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium holds or
not. Identifying the two with each other is a mistake. The contribution of
Arrow-Debreu was to rigorously demonstrate the general equilibrium outcomes of
a certain type of model of the market that is (rightly) widely in use. Any
departure from that optimum ought not to be confused with a non-existence of
the invisible hand forces that Smith referred to."
The fact is that Smith's specific (only) reference in Wealth Of Nations
referred to some, but not all merchants, from their concerns for the
"security" of the capital if sent abroad in the "foreign trade
of consumption", preferred to invest in "domestic industry"
(mentioned four times by Smith, twice in the relevant sentence in para 9). Their 'insecurity" led them ti invest domestically and his had the "unintended"
consequence that it added to domestic "revenue and employment" arithmetically:
the whole is the sum of its parts.
Smith considered this a public benefit. He didn't say anything beyond
this. It said similar consequences
applied in "many other" situations, without specifying them.
To suggest that this is a general unintended consequence of
self-interested actions, leading to "Pareto Optima", "General
Equilibrium", as many modern economists do, or that even
"selfish" motives lead likewise, is an absurd attribution to Adam
Smith. He details again and again
how the "self-interested" actions of "merchants and
manufacturers" lead to higher prices, less competition, and lower domestic
employment in such "self-interested" policies as tariffs, protections,
prohibitions, monopolists, colonial preferences, the one-sided Combination
Acts, the Settlement Acts, Wages set by the magistrate allies of employers,
established religions, Primogeniture, Entails, chartered Trading Companies, all
of which self-interestes actions directly act against the general interest, Yet, daily - nay hourly - modern economists are reported,
and media sources, continue to pour out nonsense about the existence of an
invisible hand in, variously, the market, price systems, supply and demand, and
so on.
That lay-people come to believe in such a fictitious "invisible
hand" - let alone that credible figures from our ranks of economists also
believe it - though cracks are appearing in the former monolithic consensus
sparked of by Paul Samuelson from 1948 - is disappointing.
I look forward to their recantations of their apparent belief in the
fiction of Adam Smith's so-called invisible hand.
PS: I posted my reply and afterwards,when preparing my post for Lost Legacy, I realised I had mistaken the thrust of Daniel's original post. The above is edited to make clear that I am criticising the thrust of modern economists, not Daniel's posted comments.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Is Nobody Ashamed?
"7 reasons Wall Street
bankers' brains act bizarre"
Insatiable Gorilla, Invisible Hand and fear of death
Paul B. Farrell reports
iin MarketWatch HERE
"Our Insatiable Gorilla is actually a metaphor
for something far more profound, that Gorilla is the all-almighty Invisible
Hand of capitalism that Adam Smith deified in his works on "The Theory of Moral
Sentiments" and "The Wealth of Nations."
Yes, the Insatiable
Gorilla we all know is the mysteriously cryptic Invisible Hand guiding
capitalism in the new century:"
This particular
piece of nonsense was destined for the next group of Loony Tunes to be posted, until I read
further and found it referred to a speech by the President at a Morgan Stanley get together, where apparently the theme of
the President's speech was how "Working at Morgan Stanley" is like making love
to a gorilla," He was I assume only half joking.
The rest is too tiresome to repeat.
What a state modern economics is in when it leads to such silly comments
from a major banking institution, presumably in charge of billions of dollars
of investment upon which millions of jobs rely. Let along the overall prosperity of US capitalism.
And this nonsense is laid at the door of Adam Smith, encouraged by my
colleagues giving it intellectual respectability! Are none of them ashamed even just a little at what they
have done since 1948 to spread this direct falsification of Adam Smith's life
work? And not just the
neoclassical school is culpable, but also Hayek, et al, and assorted Austrians too. Even Heterodox economists join the consensus
spread the nonsense as well.
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Doug Brady reports that Adam Gropnik in the New Yorker claims that "that Adam Smith would have had no
trouble with Barack Obama's recent remarks about how the existence of public
roads nullifies the significance of individual accomplishment and justifies the
administrative state."
I noted this piece
in a "Conservatives 4 Palin" Blog post HERE The piece originates from Yuval Levin
in National Review HERE
Yuval Levin
"Count me a skeptic.
Gopnik is certainly right to say that Smith believed that markets were created
and sustained by public policy, and that building infrastructure is an
important public purpose which government should pursue. Everyone else believes
that too. Obama's assertion that his opponents disagree with that is
preposterous. But as Gopnik also notes, Smith was an ardent critic of what we
today would call crony capitalism. His case for the approach he lays out in The
Wealth of Nations begins from a critique of the then-reigning economic approach
known as mercantilism, under which each of the European powers set market rules
that served the interests of a few large domestic manufacturers and trading
companies that worked closely with the government—putting economic policy in
the service of what they took to be the national interest, in order to advance
the nation's trading position. Smith argued that legislators should instead
govern the market in the interest of the common consumer, and that the interest
of that consumer would be best served by intense, open competition among
producers that did not privilege large and well-connected businesses over smaller
and newer rivals.
capitalism—and a preference for a few large companies in each part of the
economy that will function as agents of the government and be rewarded and
protected accordingly—is the core of the Obama administration's approach to the
economy. It's the essence of Obamacare and Dodd-Frank, for instance. And it is
decidedly not about open competition in the service of the common consumer's
interest. You can name your new agencies consumer protection bureaus all you
like, what they're doing is making the economy more consolidated and easily
manageable from the center, rejecting competitive enterprises in favor of
public utilities. That's basically the opposite of Smith's vision."
I agree with Yuval
Levin and I acknowledge Doug Brady's role in bringing it to our attention. I think it is a perceptive rebuttal of
the oft-heard view that the state is a natural ally of big business in a
corporate-state relationship.
However, I must
tread carefully here because, as the comments in the National Review on Levin's
piece show, it is risky to appear to get involved in the mist enveloping the politics of other
countries, of which I do not know much and in which I do not vote. Even mentioning controversial names,
like Mrs Palin or President Obama, in an election year invites trouble from their respective 'enemies'.
My interest,
however, is in what Adam Smith said about these issues. He saw an important role for government
(defence, justice, public works, education of all ages and treating "noxious
diseases"). All these areas of
expenditure would expand as the country's economy and the political
requirements of the growing population increased, as we know happened. Where and how much the state's
responsibilities would expand is, and remains, a prime political question,
i.e., controversial. Currently, we face a problem where expansion of the
states has been fueled by borrowing beyond the creditors' willingness, or
capacity, to fund their ever-increasing borrowing.
But the point
remains that Smith was not antagonistic to state spending, nor was he in favour
of a "night watchman state". Such
choices were open to the will of the legislature (not the King's alone). He was critical of politicians who
though they knew best what people, or the economy, wanted or required, and of those who influenced them and who pursued narrow
sectional interests (in his day, those of landed interests or of "merchants
and manufacturers).
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Amartya Sen on Mathematics
on Lars P. Syll's Blog HERE
reports an interview of Amartya Sen by Olaf Storbeck and Dorit Hess on the state of modern
economics from 24 July.
Among the
topics discussed by Sen he comments on the role of mathematics in economics in
a far more positive slant than I often give it on Lost Legacy.
While I
accept that mathematics is a useful gateway for students to gain admission to
an economics degree course at Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, etc., I question its
overly prominent role for mathematics in economics theory and practice.
yes, and perhaps there is a role
for elementary maths to assist reasoning, but rigorous higher maths? I am less sure, especially when the
maths take over and the economics becomse divorced from any resemblance with
economists cannot distinguish between a philosophical assumption of
self-interest of an individual and miss the absolute requirement of Smith's assumption that the postulated
self-interest of an individual requires to be mediated by concerns for, and
attention to, the self-interests of others, as is the clear case with modern
treatments of Adam Smith's elementary example of bargaining with the "butcher, brewer, baker" example, then I worry about the conclusions drawn by mathematical economists that Smith somehow postulated that self-interested individuals pursuing their narrow self-interests (tariffs, monopolies, pollution and such like) somehow leads to general pubic benefits, as asserted in the usual attribution to Smith's "invisible hand". Such reasoning is an absurdity from which competence in maths does not save them
I suggest
readers visit Lars P. Syll's Blog and read it regularly. It is thought provoking.
Loony Tunes no. 60
"Paul Krugman was
lying on the canvas, stunned by the invisible hand."
David Bush HERE
Connell on Seeking Alpha HERE
"Prices can be seen as the writing on the wall
by the invisible hand."
By John Cole HERE
Invisible Hand of the Free
Market will provide a solution, as soon as it gets its Holy Fingers unstuck
from the Gay Chicken Muppet-Puppet of excessive govt regulations."
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Delusions of Utopia
Gerrit Wiesmann and Chris Bryant write in The
Financial Times about Berthold Huber, the head of Germany's huge carworkers'
union, IG Metall. HERE
"A German union of dogma and pragmatism"
"The global crisis destroyed the intellectual foundation of the "recent
type of shareholder-capitalism", he says with quiet intensity. "No one believes
in the selflessness of self-interest any more, in the invisible hand of the
market, though to reduce Adam Smith to that is wrong."
After some seconds of silence, he adds: "He was a highly moral person. I
know, because I'm one of the few people to have read all of him." …
He says that the performance of communism in East Germany compared to the
performances of capitalism as far as the living standards and employment
conditions of workers made a lasting impression on his outlook as a trade union
"That's what finally convinced me one has to deal with real problems.
It can't be about forcing Utopias into existence, it has to be about shaping
real life."
I can concur with Berthold Huber's observation from my limited
experience of visits to East Germany in the early 1980s, and my comparatively
more numerous trips to West Germany from the 1970s. Visions of so-called utopias, be they economic,
political or religious, are mainly delusionary and they can sometimes be dangerous
I am pleased that Berthold Huber is wide-awake to the myth of "the invisible hand
of the market" and what appears to be its supposed relationship to the "selflessness
of self-interest".
Now, why are we lumbered in Britain with trade union leaders imbued with
a passion for Marxist-Trotskyist delusions about a coming revolutionary utopia leading to a better kind of socialist utopia than the one already failed in
East Germany?
Monday, July 23, 2012
American Thinker, Not Thinking?
'invisible hand' do we prefer? The one referred to by Adam Smith and
Milton Friedman? A 'hand' that acts as people act for themselves?
An arrangement in which individuals, in an effort to improve themselves
financially, provide goods and services or improve goods and services, to the
betterment of all. Or, another type of 'invisible hand' ? One
which is in your pocket and extracts money for use by the government, as the
government sees fit?"
As a
populist statement of the benefits of markets "to provide good and services or
improve goods and services, to the betterment of all" over government taxation
for political purposes that may not be beneficial to tax payers it seems a no
However, it
misses important realities of life experienced by all of us (and observed by
Adam Smith in the Eighteenth century too). This description by Bruce Johnson, written in good faith I
have no doubt, makes no mention of Smith's other, equally valid, observations
that some, but not all, individuals who provide goods and services, do not
always do so for the "benefit of all", or indeed anybody but themselves and the
minority who purchase them.
These less
positive facts of experience should also be weighed in the balance, otherwise
Bruce Johnson (and Milton Friedman) might be found wanting and called to account for discrediting
the thrust of their better points.
Adam Smith pulled no punches in highlighting how some, but not all,
merchants behaved well short of the ideal asserted by Bruce Johnson, and less
blatantly by Milton Friedman.
the behaviours of those "merchants and manufacturers" in Wealth Of Nations who clamoured loudly for
tariff protection, even prohibitions, against imports from rivals. Such agitation was
not aimed at "the betterment of all".
It was cynically aimed at the "betterment" of the individuals who
"provide[d] good and services or improve goods and services" for higher prices
because competitive imports were curtailed or excluded altogether. Such
producer of goods and services used governments (from their politicking with legislatures)
to fix markets against the interests of consumers. They manipulate markets to "extract money for" their own
benefit and not for the benefit of their customers.
still, they decry government taxation for political ends with which they and we may not
sympathise, but they and their lobbyists also use governments to legislate against competition to the
detriment of consumers.
On this
occasion, American Thinker is not thinking. Adam Smith was not impressed by such behaviour. Neither are we. They discredit the case for markets where possible and government where necessary.
Adam Smith's Morals
Chief Rabbi Lord Sachs writes "Profits and Prophets" HERE
"There used to be a
belief among superficial readers of Adam Smith, prophet of free trade, that the
market economy did not depend on morality at all: "It is not from the
benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner,
but from their regard to their own interest." It was the brilliance of the
system that it turned self-interest into the common good by what Smith called,
almost mystically, an "invisible hand." Morality was not part of the system. It
was unnecessary.
This was a
misreading of Smith, who took morality very seriously indeed and wrote a book
called The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
But it was also a misreading of economics. This was made clear, two
centuries later, by a paradox in Games Theory known as The Prisoner's Dilemma.
Without going into details, this imagined two people faced with a choice (to
stay silent, confess or accuse the other). The outcome of their decision would
depend on what the other person did, and this could not be known in advance. It
can be shown that if both people act rationally in their own interest, they
will produce an outcome that is bad for both of them. This seems to refute the
basic premise of market economics, that the pursuit of self-interest serves the
common good.
The negative outcome
of the Prisoner's Dilemma can only be avoided if the two people repeatedly find
themselves in the same situation. Eventually they realise they are harming one
another and themselves. They learn to co-operate, which they can only do if
they trust one another, and they will only do this if the other has earned that
trust by acting honestly and with integrity.
other words, the market economy
depends on moral virtues that are not themselves produced by the market, and
may be undermined by the market itself. For if the market is about the
pursuit of profit, and if we can gain at other people's expense, then the
pursuit of profit will lead, first to shady practices ("your silver has become
dross, your choice wine is diluted with water"), then to the breakdown of
trust, then to the collapse of the market itself."
with a distinguished religious scholar is not something I do regularly (though
I commented last week on something Lord Sachs wrote) but he strikes me as a
person with which one can discuss differences without rancour.
certainly knows more about Jewish theology than I do, given that what little I
do know came from a Presbyterian upbringing that included fair slices of the
Old Testament (I know even less of Islam). Hiowever, Lord Sachs demonstrates
knowledge of economics, including Games Theory, and I am qualified to take
issue with him on that which he demonstrates, in the quotation above.
his broad theme that morality and market behaviours are important – perhaps
decisive – I entirely agree with Lord Sachs. I am not so inclined to agree with his interpretations of
Adam Smith in Wealth Of Nations and of more recent ideas such as Prisoner's
Dilemma. In both cases, with
respect, I suggest he has missed the moral point.
take the now famous, and as widely misunderstood, reference of Adam Smith to: "It
is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we
expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." Humans in no economic or social system
has ever been able to survive on the total benevolence of other people
alone. That is an impossible
aspiration, dare I say, this side of heaven.
God, by theological assumption, has all the resources of the world, indeed of the universe, at his disposal
and therefore could be benevolent in the extreme towards all living creatures and
still have resources to spare, no humans have access each day of their lives to
supply everybody's else's human needs – somebody has to labour to acquire
whatever resources are needed for her (since the expulsion from the Eden Garden) to
benevolently dispose of a proportion of them to satisfy everybody else's needs. This is not a particular moral failing of
today; it's been a fact of life since Genesis (in theological terms).
moral issue comes down to how resources are distributed for our dinners. Why do "butchers, brewers, and
bakers" enter into Adam Smith's equation?
Because, he opined, it was in their self-interest to do so. He advised those searching for the
wherewithal for their dinners to enter into a dialogue (not a one-sided monologue!) with
those whose self-interest brought them into consideration by those searching
for their dinners in their own self-interests.
is this dialogue to be conducted?
Smith advised potential diners not to "talk of their own necessities"
but to "address the self-interests of the "butcher, brewer and baker" (and, of
course, vice versa). This point
seems to have escaped the attention of Lord Sachs and all those many others who
draw the same wrong moral conclusion.
Self-interest is not a license to be "selfish" or "greedy". Far from it. It
is an admonition to serve our own self-interests by mediating with the
self-interests of the "butcher, brewer and baker". In this, each of us becomes a merchant.
In short (Smith's
previous paragraph), the nature of each bargain is summed by the expression "Give
me this that I want and you shall have that which you want". (In modern negotiating, I express this
as "IF you do this for me, THEN I shall do that for you"). The exact contents
of each such bargained dialogue is determined by how each party adjusts his own
self-interest to the other party's self-interest. That is a very moral proposition. Two egoistic self-interested demanders, uninterested in the
self-interests of each other would never reach an agreement. That was the moral
and pragmatic point of Smith's parable. Morality was part of the system. It was
absolutely necessary.
On Prisoner's
Dilemma, I am not sure that Lord Sachs has got this post-War theorem (1950) correctly
formulated, though, of course, it was not an idea considered by Adam Smith 174
years earlier (1776). The two
prisoners were offered a deal to chose separately without consultation among:
both confess (10 years each in jail); one confessed but the other didn't (the
confessor serves 20 years, the silent one, goes free, there not being enough
evidence to convict him); both stay silent (both go free). What do they each do
individually? It depends on what
they think their partner will do!
Having supervised
real-world negotiators thousands of times playing single-shot and multi-shot
Prisoner's Dilemma games, I can concur that most pairs were stumped at playing
what was in their best interests as pairs. They either ended up serving 10 years each or one serving 20
years and the other going free.
Very few chose the option that meant they both went free, mainly because
they did not trust the other to choose not to confess. But note that law observance in
society, gained from one or both serving prison terms. However, consider if they was a
trustworthy 'honour among thieves', and they both chose to 'not confess', society
would not have benefitted and their criminal immorality would have been
rewarded. (I have not the space to
discuss this further in respect of observing many thousands of plays of the 'Red-Blue'
game – perhaps another time?). But the gist of the moral conclusions of
Prisoner's Dilemma game illustrates the conflict between personal morality and
the healthy morality of society.
Lastly, I have not
commented on Lord Sachs's remarks about the attribution of a moral role to the "invisible
hand": Lord Sach's writes "It was the brilliance of the system that it turned
self-interest into the common good by what Smith called, almost mystically, an "invisible
hand." Regular posts on Lost
Legacy challenge this attribution to Adam Smith, so I shall not repeats them
here. Lord Sachs can cast his eye
over many posts on the subject. Suffice to say, Adam Smith had no such ideas as
expressed by many modern economists and there was nothing "mystical" in his use
of the popular 17-18TH century metaphor.
That there was is an wholly modern invention from Paul Samuelson (1948)
and others.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Does General Equilibrium Theory Make Economics a Hard Science or a Fantasy?
Lars P. Sylls Blog carried a post on
"Why general equilibrium economics is a dead end" by Franklin M. Fisher
(21 July, 2012) HERE
"Almost a century and a half after Léon
Walras founded general equilibrium theory, economists still have not been
able to show that markets lead economies to equilibria.
We do know that – under very
restrictive assumptions – equilibria do exist, are unique and are
But after reading Franklin M. Fisher's masterly article The stability of general equilibrium
– what do we know and why is it important? one has to ask
oneself – what good does that do?
As long as we cannot show, except under
exceedingly special assumptions, that there are convincing reasons to
suppose there are forces which lead economies to equilibria - the value of
general equilibrium theory is nil. As long as we can not really
demonstrate that there are forces operating – under reasonable, relevant and at
least mildly realistic conditions – at moving markets to equilibria, there can
not really be any sustainable reason for anyone to pay any interest or
attention to this theory.
A stability that can only be proved by
assuming "Santa Claus" conditions is of no avail. Most people do not believe in
Santa Claus anymore. And for good reasons. Santa Claus is for kids, and general
equilibrium economists ought to grow up, leaving their Santa Claus economics in
the dustbin of history.
Continuing to
model a world full of agents behaving as economists – "often wrong, but never
uncertain" – and still not being able to show that the system under reasonable
assumptions converges to equilibrium (or simply assume"
I am inclined to agree with the above
comment/review by Lars Sylls, from his Blog and with the reported skepticism of
Franklin M. Fisher
about the value of theories of general equilibrium as taught in neoclassical
economics departments. The relatively simple maths (to physics majors) of
economics allegedly 'prove' to social science majors at least that economics is
a hard science and worthy of the admiration of real scientists. It certainly can be hard for less
numerate students but whether it is a real science is another matter. There are
reports of physicists smiling indulgently at such claims by some economists.
Mathematically minded economists, in my
experience seldom indulge their fellow economists who prefer to study the real
world rather than the imaginary world of general equilibrium. Adam Smith, no mean mathematician
himself – it was his favourite subject at Glasgow University and afterwards –
studiously avoided applying his mathematical skills to his treatment of
political economy. Hence he did not make presumptions about aspects of general equilibrium
applying to his approach to Wealth Of Nations.
Franklin M. Fisher appears to agree
coming at general equilibrium from another angle – it is disconnectedfrom the real
economy. Lars P. Sylls also seems to be skeptical of its value too. So do I.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Falsehoods No Guide to Adam Smith
Murphy speaks of "falsehoods" undermining empires but commits (unintentionally, I'm sure) a falsehood about
Adam Smith while doing so in a post in 'Truth and Charity' HERE
Hersey of President Obama"
"Adam Smith, for all
the good his thought may have done, believed that it was man's greed and
self-love that should drive the economy."
The Adam Smith who
was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723, as opposed to the invented "Adam Smith", lauded by some modern economists at Chicago University in the 1930s, did not
articulate "beliefs that it was man's greed and self-love that should drive the
economy" (see Paul Samuelson's account in Economics: and introductory analysis,
p 36, 1948)
The Adam Smith who
wrote Moral Sentiments and Wealth Of Nations spent considerable efforts to
dissuade readers from accepting the writings of Bernard Mandeville ('Fable of
the Bees', 1724) in praise of selfishness, which he described as "licentious". Mica also may be confusing Ayn Rand and her sympathy with "selfishness"
with Adam Smith's philosophy of self-interest as a driver of behaviour (a
common mistake of modern commentators).
Adam Smith's
self-interest theory was clearly constructive when it was mediated by concern for the
self-interests of others as specified, foe example in "the butcher, brewer, and baker" example in Wealth Of
Nations. Two egoistic self-interested neighbours would never agree to anything.