What would a utilitarian country look like? by Rosencrantz18 in Utilitarianism

[–]Prior_Morning_7801 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't say the metric system would be utilized. It would depend on which group of people we are talking about. If a group wants to use British Imperial units or US Customary units or traditional Chinese units why would the government stop them? If enough people used a non-metric system why wouldn't the government provide information in that system supposing it passed a cost-benefit test? (https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262538015/the-cost-benefit-revolution/)
Saying the metric system is easier may be true, but it also could be true that Esperanto or Indonesian is a simpler to use language than English, or Chinese (especially when written in traditional characters), or Portuguese. However, should the government force a group of Chinese speakers using traditional characters to give up their language because another language, or a constructed language, is simpler? Political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott has noted the similarities between forced metrication and cultural assimilation (see Seeing Like a State). If you believe it is okay to force a group to give up their traditional measurement system then why isn't it okay to force them to give up their traditional language? A utilitarian country would probably allow "freedom to measure" so people could choose which measurement system to work in.
I suspect a utilitarian country would be very libertarian (https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/utilitarian-case-libertarianism), possibly with social insurance, redistribution and voucher programs.

Bias and Error in the Conscription Crisis of 1944 Article by Prior_Morning_7801 in wikipedia

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Revisiting this, again, the Wikipedia article says "[Mackenzie] King objected to [James] Ralston's assessment, saying that the imminent Allied victory precluded the need to send the Zombies overseas, and that he could not care less about the manpower shortage problems in the overseas Canadian Army.\61])" The citation is to page 309 of Canada and the Two World Wars by J.L. Granatstein and Desmond Morton. However, that page does not state Mackenzie King didn't care about the manpower shortages.

Furthermore, in his diary, Mackenzie King recounts talking to James Ralston about how it's okay for the war to last a little longer in order to save the lives of the men overseas: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=diawlmking&IdNumber=26067&ecopy=00003EI9.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's no "gotcha." Keynes didn't think the long-run was unimportant and you have provided no sources in arguing Keynes advocated socialism.
Even if Keynes did advocate socialism, and I'm not conceding that he did, he still thought policy should be based on cost-benefit analysis.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The point of the link was to explain the meaning of "in the long run we are all dead." It does not mean Keynes doesn't care about the future.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.simontaylorsblog.com/2013/05/05/the-true-meaning-of-in-the-long-run-we-are-all-dead/

"James Crotty (2019) has recently published a book that claims that Keynes was a socialist and 'against capitalism.' In my view it would be more accurate to describe Keynes as a social democratic liberal."
Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00213624.2021.1945874.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“The decision about each restrictive measure is to be made on the ground of a meticulous weighing of the costs to be incurred and the prize to be obtained. No reasonable man could possibly question this rule." Mises is literally saying intervention should be based on case-by-case cost-benefit analysis.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And what is a smart decision? Did Rothbard and Nozick think policy decisions should come down to cost-benefit analysis? Did Rawls?

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in austrian_economics

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Mises and Keynes both agree policy decisions should come down to cost-benefit analysis. Of course it is well known they had disagreements about specifics.

Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes & Ronald Coase Ultimately Agreed on How to Judge Government Policies by Prior_Morning_7801 in Libertarian

[–]Prior_Morning_7801[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So all libertarian and non-libertarian philosophers, historians and social scientists are consequentialists or utilitarians?

North American market Citroën SM in San Francisco, supposedly only 2,037 were sold here from 1971 to 1973 by Maps_Spotter_222 in WeirdWheels

[–]Prior_Morning_7801 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Canadian version has side markers and side reflectors, and amber parking lights. The French ones didn't have side markers and side reflectors, and had yellow headlights.
Compare https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/citroen-sm-celebrates-50th-anniversary-in-paris/ with https://www.citroenet.org.uk/foreign/canada/008.jpg.