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Morality Is Overrated - by Robin Hanson - Overcoming Bias

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Hanging out with moral philosophers last week at Oxford reminded me of the old complaint that economists neglect morality. Actually, I think the real problem is the reverse! Let me explain. Many people advise us on what to do. Some discuss personal actions, while others suggest how groups could better coordinate. And, crucially, some advise us on what we should do, while others advise us on how to get what we want. At the personal level, parents, teachers, preachers, and activists tend to tell us what is morally right, while friends, mentors, lawyers, doctors, therapists, and financial planners tend to tell us what will achieve our ends. At the level of social policy, pundits and wonks give a mixture of rationales for their suggestions. Moral philosophers, for example, tend to emphasize policies we should pick, while economists tend to emphasize policies to better get us what we want. All else equal, we may each prefer to do what is right, but when all else is not equal we often

Hanging out with moral philosophers last week at Oxford reminded me of the old complaint that economists neglect morality. Actually, I think the real problem is the reverse! Let me explain. Many people advise us on what to do. Some discuss personal actions, while others suggest how groups could better coordinate. And, crucially, some advise us on what we should do, while others advise us on how to get what we want. At the personal level, parents, teachers, preachers, and activists tend to tell us what is morally right, while friends, mentors, lawyers, doctors, therapists, and financial…

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