No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Market Research Economy

The Problem of Extreme Cases

by TheAdviserMagazine
5 months ago
in Economy
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
The Problem of Extreme Cases
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn


John Stuart Mill famously wrote, about pushing principles to their logical limit, that “unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case” (On Liberty). This is not obvious, for extremes often produce antinomic or non-generalizable results.

One may perhaps affirm that stealing $25 from Elon Musk without anybody knowing (I suspect that Musk rounds up his accounting figures to the nearest thousand) and giving it to a very poor family for a meal at McDonald’s would increase the latter’s utility more than it would decrease the former’s. But in less extreme cases, it becomes obvious (or so I argue with many if not most economists) that any concept of “aggregate utility” is meaningless because interpersonal comparisons of utility are scientifically impossible. As Anthony de Jasay kept repeating, it’s “my say-so against your say-so.” (See also my review of Lionel Robbins’s 1935 An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economics.) Some principles or “laws”—such as the impossibility of interpersonal comparison of utility—may be considered absolutes, but they are only “relatively absolute absolutes” (to use James Buchanan’s expression) and may break down in extreme cases.

A Cretan’s statement that “all Cretans are liars” is antinomic: either it is true, which implies it is false; or else it is false, which implies it may be true. But, as Anthony de Jasay observes with his usual common-sense, down-to-earth approach, when we say in ordinary discourse that all Cretans lie, we are not literally meaning it; we metaphorically mean that most of them lie. This helps de Jasay build his argument for the possibility of private production of “public goods” in anarchy by ruling out extreme cases. If, concerning a given public good, all potential customers believe that none of them will free-ride (refuse to contribute or subscribe to the public good), then all of them will free-ride. In reality, some potential free riders will bet that some will free-ride and others not, and will cautiously decide to subscribe in case their own contributions could be decisive for the production of a public good they intensely want. (See de Jasay’s Social Contract, Free Ride, which I reviewed in Regulation.)

It may be a general phenomenon that, in our universe, extremes are puzzling or antinomic, at least for our limited minds. Mathematical infinity is an extreme that is difficult, if not impossible, to manipulate. But “tending toward infinity” is a useful concept. It is essential for calculating the present value of a perpetuity (or its special cases of a perpetual bond or a consol) as the recurrent coupon divided by the discount rate.

Thinking about a nearly omnipotent God may provide solutions to every problem, but an infinitely powerful God produces the “omnipotence paradox”: Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it? Aquinas answered that God is only omnipotent in “possible things,” in “whatever does not imply a contradiction.”—Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 25, Article 3. So even God, it would seem, cannot go to the extreme of canceling logical contradictions. Needless to say that a human government cannot be omnipotent, but it can cause much damage by moving in that direction.

The problem remains to find where the extremes are and to identify the extreme cases that cannot be used to test a theory. In some instances at least, identification is possible—for example, when a variable goes from 0% to 100%, as for the proportion of the Cretans who lie or the voluntary subscribers to a “public good.”

******************************

“Woman walking toward infinity”



Source link

Tags: casesExtremeproblem
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

How to elevate the client experience during tax preparation

Next Post

Confused About Social Security? These 7 Truth Bombs Will Clear It up Fast

Related Posts

edit post
WTO hikes global trade forecast for 2025; slowdown expected in 2026

WTO hikes global trade forecast for 2025; slowdown expected in 2026

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

A cargo ship sits outside of the Port of Elizabeth marine terminal seen from Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S., April 9...

edit post
Mises on Separating Morality and State

Mises on Separating Morality and State

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

A recent surge of politically-motivated violence, dramatically underscored by the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, has left many Americans wondering...

edit post
Digital ID in the Cradle of Liberty (My Last EconLog Post)

Digital ID in the Cradle of Liberty (My Last EconLog Post)

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

On September 26, the British prime minister’s office announced that “A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working...

edit post
Links 10/7/2025 | naked capitalism

Links 10/7/2025 | naked capitalism

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1108 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct,...

edit post
The Pieces Of The Resolution The Democrats DON’T Want You To See

The Pieces Of The Resolution The Democrats DON’T Want You To See

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

  Health care spending has been at the forefront of the Democrats’ tantrum that led to the government shutdown. Where...

edit post
Italy At A Standstill Over Gaza Protests

Italy At A Standstill Over Gaza Protests

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 7, 2025
0

@sams4raa we SHUT DOWN a whole country for two weeks, but the newspapers aren’t talking about it #freepalestine #italy #rome...

Next Post
edit post
Confused About Social Security? These 7 Truth Bombs Will Clear It up Fast

Confused About Social Security? These 7 Truth Bombs Will Clear It up Fast

edit post
Fortis Healthcare Q4 Results: Net profit falls 7% to Rs 188 crore

Fortis Healthcare Q4 Results: Net profit falls 7% to Rs 188 crore

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

September 14, 2025
edit post
Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

September 8, 2025
edit post
DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

September 11, 2025
edit post
‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

September 9, 2025
edit post
Tips to Apply for Mental Health SSDI Without Therapy

Tips to Apply for Mental Health SSDI Without Therapy

September 19, 2025
edit post
Raymond James sues to retrieve dead advisor’s laptop

Raymond James sues to retrieve dead advisor’s laptop

September 11, 2025
edit post
Nigeria’s Oil Rig Count Surges 66%

Nigeria’s Oil Rig Count Surges 66%

0
edit post
World Bank raises China growth forecast to 4.8% despite U.S. trade tensions

World Bank raises China growth forecast to 4.8% despite U.S. trade tensions

0
edit post
Dollar rallies as US shutdown drags on, weighing on confidence

Dollar rallies as US shutdown drags on, weighing on confidence

0
edit post
Italy At A Standstill Over Gaza Protests

Italy At A Standstill Over Gaza Protests

0
edit post
Meteora AG reveals $MET tokenomics; 48% of supply to circulate at TGE

Meteora AG reveals $MET tokenomics; 48% of supply to circulate at TGE

0
edit post
Don’t Hide Money In The Toilet: Conversations With A Burglar

Don’t Hide Money In The Toilet: Conversations With A Burglar

0
edit post
Dollar rallies as US shutdown drags on, weighing on confidence

Dollar rallies as US shutdown drags on, weighing on confidence

October 7, 2025
edit post
Meteora AG reveals $MET tokenomics; 48% of supply to circulate at TGE

Meteora AG reveals $MET tokenomics; 48% of supply to circulate at TGE

October 7, 2025
edit post
Is AI Really Coming After Your Job?

Is AI Really Coming After Your Job?

October 7, 2025
edit post
XRP Is Already Penetrating SWIFT’s Network Through Multiple Entry Points, Expert Highlights How

XRP Is Already Penetrating SWIFT’s Network Through Multiple Entry Points, Expert Highlights How

October 7, 2025
edit post
Government shutdown could drain financial advisor optimism

Government shutdown could drain financial advisor optimism

October 7, 2025
edit post
Top analyst on concerns about Nvidia fueling an AI bubble: ‘We’ve seen this movie before. It was called Enron, Tyco’

Top analyst on concerns about Nvidia fueling an AI bubble: ‘We’ve seen this movie before. It was called Enron, Tyco’

October 7, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • Dollar rallies as US shutdown drags on, weighing on confidence
  • Meteora AG reveals $MET tokenomics; 48% of supply to circulate at TGE
  • Is AI Really Coming After Your Job?
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.