Why People Hate Economists

Arnold Kling explains that economists are rational while "people" are illogical, and so there's this perpetual conflict. But he doesn't help his cause with this bit of cluelessness:...Read more

Hardly anyone feels guilty about using tax preparation software rather than paying an accountant to handle their tax returns. Yet many people would tell you that there is something wrong with outsourcing tax preparation to accountants in India.

I explained why people feel this way in the comments section of his own blog, so I don't expect Mr. Kling to understand (or listen to) me here, but let me explain again: When you replace manual labor with machines, people view that as progress. The creative impulse of man inventing technological solutions to life's drudgeries - that's what we here in good ol' Western Civilization kind of strive for - it's kind of "our thing." Deciding to save a buck by going down the street (or half way across the world) and hiring some guy to do the same manual work but cheaper is not progress. It's just saving a buck. We Western Civ folk ain't much impressed by that kind of thing - some even consider it rather bad form. Any penny-pinching homeowner knows how to call up a few contractors to get an estimate to repave a driveway - that takes no special talent. But if some big paving machines can save you money by using less labor, then we are impressed. Should we be similarly impressed if some guy hires a gaggle of illegal Mexican immigrants to work cheaper than renting a machine? I don't think so - I think we'd consider that a bit of a step backward. Get it? Now is that so freakin' hard to understand?!