Actually, Riots Are Good: The Economic Case For Rioting

Posted by khalling 10 years, 9 months ago to Economics
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I actually thought this was an Onion article
broken window fallacy among other completely FRESH HELL arguments.

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  • Posted by Ben45 10 years, 9 months ago
    I don't see where the the author was using the broken window fallacy. The author did not indicate that wealth or GPD would be created by rioting. The evils of rioting parallel the evils of war - non combatants get injured or damaged, and the rioters much like rogue soldiers act as judge, jury and executioner. There is no place for rioting in civil society.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 10 years, 9 months ago
    While reading the Onion article, I imagined it being written in a fiery place by a smirking horned demon who flicked a red tail, had its forked tongue crammed into one bulging cheek and used a talon extended from a finger for a pen.
    Whoa! Today is Thanksgiving--not Halloween!
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  • Posted by barwick11 10 years, 9 months ago
    I'm so pissed about these moronic protesters right now I'm not even touching this. I don't give a crap if you're being "peaceful" about it, the reason you're protesting is stupid as hell.

    It's almost as bad as the people who support Mumia Abu Jamal or whatever his name is...
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  • Posted by tkstone 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Keynesianism and this article are based on the same false premise that society operates like a hive or ant colony and that humans inately act in harmony. No one can know when to stop priming the pump or when the level of rioting has reached its optimal level. I can not believe I am actually having this conversation. The arrogance of the liberal mind never ceases to amaze me.
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  • Posted by IndianaGary 10 years, 9 months ago
    I couldn't get past the description of the prosecutor as "smirking". I've replayed it several times and I didn't notice a single smirk.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    "Keynesian idiots are in full bloom."
    You guys need another word for this staw Keynsianism. Real Keynsianism recognizes where in the expansion phase of the economic cycle and says it's time to cut gov't spending immediately to shore up the budget so we can prime the pump with borrowing during the next recession. There are legitimate disagreements with that view, but that Keynsianism buys into the broken windows fallacy is not one of them.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 9 months ago
    It contains the broken window fallacy AND an unstated premise that the rioters are responding to legitimate grievances: "Rioting that occurs in response to gross police misconduct and criminal system abuses imposes costs on doing those things." From there he proceeds to do calculations about how rioting incurs a cost that discourages other more costly mistakes on the part of the authorities.

    The premise that rioters are a good judge of what police conduct and the criminal justice system is laughable.
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  • Posted by $ AJAshinoff 10 years, 9 months ago
    By this logic systematic ethic cleansing is great for the unemployment rate.

    Too many mOron posting in response on that link.
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  • Posted by Eudaimonia 10 years, 9 months ago
    Gawker wasn't far from straight-up crazy.

    Now they are there.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 9 months ago
    Yes, the Keynesian idiots are in full bloom. We should burn down their houses so that the local house building industry gets stimulated.
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  • Posted by mdk2608 10 years, 9 months ago
    Amazing. Good Post. I was waiting for someone to approach things from thins angle. I thought it might be MSNBC though.
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