The Surrealism-based Community Slams into the Science of Economics

Who is better informed about the policy choices facing the country—liberals, conservatives or libertarians? According to a Zogby International survey that I write about in the May issue of Econ Journal Watch, the answer is unequivocal: The left flunks Econ 101.

Among the left’s self-lauditory rubbish about itself is the notion that they know how to conduct an economy well so that it serves the public well. Pshyeah, right. Compared to just about anyone else they register somewhere between a dull thud and a talking toy with a pull-string.

How did the six ideological groups do overall? Here they are, best to worst, with an average number of incorrect responses from 0 to 8: Very conservative, 1.30; Libertarian, 1.38; Conservative, 1.67; Moderate, 3.67; Liberal, 4.69; Progressive/very liberal, 5.26.

Americans in the first three categories do reasonably well. But the left has trouble squaring economic thinking with their political psychology, morals and aesthetics

Further still down the orbit-track circling planet dork, the divergence comes largely from imagining the things that establish the real cost (and thus the real problem) of virtually all goods and services in the real world meat-space occurring outside the left’s ideology.

Basic economics acknowledges that whatever redeeming features a restriction may have, it increases the cost of production and exchange, making goods and services less affordable. There may be exceptions to the general case, but they would be atypical.

Which can be noted in blowing questions as simple as this one:

"Restrictions on housing development make housing less affordable." People were asked if they: 1) strongly agree; 2) somewhat agree; 3) somewhat disagree; 4) strongly disagree; 5) are not sure.

”Progressives” were 4 times more likely to not understand that restrictions drive up cost as anyone else – even as they march in demand of “affordable housing”, priced based on who you are in the Social Justice™ scale.