Pleased as Punch

There’s only a few Arnold Kling-quality writers in the blogosphere, so it’s a little unfair to expect anyone to reach that standard, but a quick review of the 20 posts currently visible on EconLog suggests to me that Caplan is not getting a lot fewer (and, if anything, more) comments per post than AK is, despite the fact that Kling’s posts are older (and thus have had more time to attract comments).

Comments may not be a perfect measure of the quality of a post, and maybe looking at the archives would change my conclusions some, but they do measure reader interest.

I have encountered, on occasion, the claim that a trait common to many left leaning people is the bitter resentment for the accomplishments of others, often characterized by personal attacks and name calling in lieu of sustained argument. But of course this stereotype couldn’t possibly be justified, right?

Thomas S. Szasz is a very destructive individual. His work concerning the so-called myth of mental illness has caused an unbelievable amount of harm. Szasz is greatly responsible for the mentally ill walking the streets and not the getting the psychiatric help they so desperate need. The next time you observe a homeless person urinating or defecating in the street—just remember the name of Thomas Szasz. It is his foolish shenanigans which has made it so difficult to address such insane behavior.

I am a neo-conservative and not a radical libertarian. There are times when the government is required to step in when people are indulging in self destructive behavior. This is especially true when their aberrant actions impact negatively on the rest of society.

Bryan,

Read your paper and liked it very much. I’ve been thinking much the same thing for years – without the economics twist. The psychiatric profession begins with the assumption that “normal” equals “good”. To tell someone seeking help that, “if your behavior were closer to normal then your life might be easier”, is one thing. To create a catalog of “disorders” is another.

I have encountered, on occasion, the claim that a trait common to many left leaning people is the bitter resentment for the accomplishments of others, often characterized by personal attacks and name calling in lieu of sustained argument. But of course this stereotype couldn’t possibly be justified, right?

No. It couldn’t. There are, of course, plenty of people who are resentful of others’ success, but I doubt the tendency follows political lines. If it does, and if criticizing academics for foolishness is a sign of resentment, then I think you will find much more of it on the right than the left.

Am I resentful of Bryan’s accomplishments, as you seem to imply? I don’t think so. I’m don’t even know what they all are, though I know earning a doctorate from Princeton requires hard work and considerable intellect, and I assume he has published some reasonable papers, which is also an accomplishment of note. However, I do have some achievements of my own to be proud of as well.

I don’t actually think winning an award connected with Szasz is much of an achievement. Szasz’s thinking has pretty well been shown to be wrong. It may not be fair to dismiss him as a crackpot, since his ideas might have had some merit when he developed them, but research into mental illness has long since discredited them. Perhaps Bryan can demonstrate that he is expert in psychiatry, familiar with current research, etc, and that there is scientific, not ideological, support for Szasz.

As far as my further comments go, in the matter of literature i was reacting to a long-ago post of his that sought to declare Ayn Rand a giant of Russian literature. That’s ludicrous. As for economics, I do sometimes get the impression of a true believer who has little experience in the world, and whose thinking is so controlled by his ultra-libertarian philosophy that it is difficult for him to understand other points of view.

I concede that I get a little snarky about some of these things from time to time. I try to avoid it but it breaks through. Devout ideologues have that effect on me.

Ideology – that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination… Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions.
Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

I took a few classes from him, and looked forward to every lecture.

Bryan is capable of looking at the world and mocking the things that don’t fit for him – and not caving into the received wisdom. Ever. Think James Gandolfini meets Matt Groening.

He stirs the pot even more in person than on the blog. If you want an idea of what his lectures are like, you may want to check the notes on his website.

On top of that he’s a nice guy.

You people are so mean. No one above congratulated Bryan for the Prize.

Congratulations, Bryan!

Footnote: I dislike Dr. Szasz for my own crooked reasons. Szasz is Hungarian for Saxon and I suspect Dr Szasz is no Saxon. I dislike my compatriots who adopted names like Szasz (Saxon), Toth (Croat), Szekely (Eastern Hungarian), Nemeth (German) and so on.