Are Barefooters Hayekian Economists?
In the comment section below, I wrote:
Barefooters are advocating fiscal responsibility, which is a big no-no in these Keynesian times. It’s interesting that we feel pressured to “prove” why money shouldn’t be spent. In a rational (Hayekian) world, shoe-wearers would be asking the shoe companies why barefooters don’t need their product.
OK, perhaps a bit of a stretch. But I think there’s a correlation between the (quite literal) from the bottom up, individualist ethic of barefooting and Austrian economic theory. Or the top-down, broken window fallacy believing, spend our way out of a problem ethos of Big Shoe (ha ha), and Keynesianism.
Or I’m just looking for an excuse to post this awesome Hayek vs Keynes Rap Battle, “Fear the Boom and Bust:”
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
Viper: I’m not sure what I’m talking about. I am a poser of all trades.
Re the sportscientists.com link, there’s nothing to rile me up in it. He brings up good points, and for someone who has never run barefoot he is pretty even handed about the study. His barefoot analysis is only half complete, since he makes no mention of using the sense of touch to fine-tune running form. But that’s not his fault, because the study doesn’t mention that. The shoe heel gets all the blame because if you get rid of the heel you still have something to sell.
Hmm, don’t know if that’s true. I might just believe it is, since it goes well with my contrarianism.
Good rap. I like how you are bringing this discussion to the field of economics. It makes a lot of sense.
In another area, I think barefoot running has something to say about our current health care debate. Instead of worrying about the cost of health care, I think we should be more concerned about how our lifestyles affect our overall health. I think if we move more, and eat more foods that are really food, instead of a chemist’s creation, I think we will be doing ourselves a world of good.
I’m sure I would find this hilarious if I knew what the hell you were talking about.
I thought this link might be something you’d want to rant about: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/running-barefoot-vs-shoes.html
Cheers!