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Back to Public Choice and Politics Without Romance (with Mike Munger), with Mike Munger.

Why Does the Munger Test Replace the Word State With Donald Trump?

The Munger test shows how support for having the state decide what people can say on the internet disappears when Donald Trump replaces the word state because there is no such thing as the state. The people who run the state are the same people who run corporations. Public choice requires comparing a real market setting with a real government setting to avoid romance about perfect government incentives.

Transcript

Public Choice and Politics Without Romance (with Mike Munger) ·

EconTalk

More from this episode

  1. Why Does Liberalism Require Tolerance and Humility?Liberalism requires that people forbear from acting as if they know they are correct.
  2. Why Does Government Action Fail to Represent the Will of the People?Government action is the outcome of a complex set of institutions and norms along with the incentives that the individuals inside face.
  3. Why Does Politics as Exchange Fail to Scale Beyond Small Groups?Politics as exchange succeeds in small groups because participants like each other and share information about preferences and allergies while possessing…
  4. Why Does Methodological Individualism Assume the Locus of Choice Is the Individual?Methodological individualism assumes the locus of choice and the locus of enjoyment or disappointment is the individual.
  5. Why Does Public Choice Differ From the Street View of Politics?Public choice and the street view of politics clash because the street view of politics tends to assume that people will rise above the incentives.
  6. Why Does a United States Senator Fail to Do the Right Thing?Competition disciplines corporations but re election disciplines US senators.
  7. Why Do Florida and South Dakota Keep Foreign Sugar Out?Senators from Florida and South Dakota support sugar import restrictions because sugar cane and sugar beets grow in Florida and South Dakota.
  8. Why Has Congress Passed So Few Laws?The United States Congress has passed very little legislation in the last close to 10 years because the incentives that now face the United States Senate and…
  9. Why Does Liberalism Require Wielding Persuasion Instead of Power?Liberalism is a constrained vision.

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