tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4073991368963140015.post8895005592603474827..comments2023-11-05T12:18:27.222+00:00Comments on Labour And Capital: Another bit of VeblenTom Powdrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511483398745094803noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4073991368963140015.post-34412916884117172482009-03-17T08:32:00.000+00:002009-03-17T08:32:00.000+00:00well, Tom / Charlie, I ain't no behaviourist (and ...well, Tom / Charlie, I ain't no behaviourist (and I prefer Strawson to Ryle): but <I>by their deeds shall ye know them</I> ...<BR/><BR/>it's certainly true that many a 'capitalist' will, over a beer, rehearse some current dogma by way of casual chit-chat, not the intense way of yer actual ideologue. But the operative attitude of mind - as evidenced by what they actually do - is non-dogmatic in the extreme, there is no habit of calibrating a suggested course of business action against a grand theory, only against its internal logic<BR/><BR/>(<A HREF="http://cityunslicker.blogspot.com/2009/03/barclays-in-tax-schemes-shock-furore.html" REL="nofollow">exploiting tax-breaks</A> is a good example)<BR/><BR/>active business-folk expect there to be all manner of quirky, actual opportunities out there in real life which theory (<I><B>'their'</B></I> theory !) may suggest shouldn't exist, but when spotted should be jumped all over with alacrity, not debated in disbelief or puzzlement<BR/><BR/>for example, arbitrage theory may suggest that certain price-differentials will never be greater than the cost of transaction. This is a strong and worthwhile principle, but professional arbitrageurs may make a living exploiting discrepancies <BR/><BR/>of course, you can argue that arbitrageurs are the very agents of arbitrage theory ! but the actual arb sees himself merely as a sniffer-out of money<BR/><BR/>you are the theorising ideologue and he is the unreflecting capitalist<BR/><BR/>(you may claim to be <I>right</I>, but you will notice that he is the <I>wealthier</I> ...)Nick Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670594203660051701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4073991368963140015.post-89390615875207920982009-03-16T17:42:00.000+00:002009-03-16T17:42:00.000+00:00Nippy? Flexible? Unideological?Or is it, to use w...Nippy? Flexible? Unideological?<BR/><BR/>Or is it, to use words a litte less verbose than Veblen, just that 'social being determines social consciousness'.?CharlieMcMenaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00942021756417667913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4073991368963140015.post-65891174596348797002009-03-16T17:29:00.000+00:002009-03-16T17:29:00.000+00:00Hi Nickfunnily enough I made the argument that man...Hi Nick<BR/><BR/>funnily enough I made the argument that many business people aren't 'ideological' to a left-leaning fund management dude I know recently and he spat feathers. <BR/><BR/>PS. Gilbert Ryle's Concept of Mind is in my stack of reading material for the coming months.Tom Powdrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05511483398745094803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4073991368963140015.post-51312827350300766172009-03-16T17:10:00.000+00:002009-03-16T17:10:00.000+00:00same comment to this and your Jack Welch post, Tom...same comment to this and your Jack Welch post, Tom ...<BR/><BR/>as <A HREF="" REL="nofollow">suggested before</A>, we capitalists are empiricists, largely unburdened with doctrine, and we tend to be nippy & flexible accordingly - perhaps even 'radical'<BR/><BR/>(well, relative to the "general public" - and lefties !)Nick Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670594203660051701noreply@blogger.com