Scott defends his argument that economic growth significantly increases happiness against Pritchard's critique, arguing she underestimates income effects and overestimates redistribution's potential while misunderstanding liberalism's respect for individual agency. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to Cassie Pritchard's critique of his defense of liberalism and economic growth. He argues that Pritchard severely underestimates the importance of income effects on happiness by dismissing comparisons like 'being a full-time caregiver' as trivial, when these are actually profound life changes. Scott defends his position that economic growth matters enormously for happiness by providing multiple anchors (marriage vs divorce, weekday vs weekend) and argues that redistribution alone cannot achieve the scale of improvement that growth provides. He addresses Pritchard's various objections including the envy hypothesis, the Easterlin paradox, and claims about policy durability, ultimately defending liberalism as respecting human agency and individual choice rather than requiring top-down government direction of all aspects of life. Shorter summary

Scott defends liberalism against claims it has failed by explaining that happiness scales logarithmically with income, so our 225x wealth increase since medieval times correctly predicts the 3-point happiness gain we've actually seen, and recent declines are due to COVID rather than systemic failure. Longer summary

Scott responds to Cassie Pritchard's argument that liberalism has failed because people aren't happier despite massive increases in wealth. He explains that happiness scales logarithmically with income, not linearly - meaning a 225x increase in GDP since medieval times should only produce about 3 points more happiness on a 1-10 scale, which it has (from ~3/10 to 6-7/10). He shows that recent happiness declines are primarily due to COVID and its aftermath, not liberalism itself, and that while other systems might add 0.5-1 points of happiness, economic growth has delivered 3 points and will continue delivering more over centuries. The post includes analysis of happiness data, comparisons across countries and time periods, and addresses why we don't feel as happy as we should be. Shorter summary

Scott reviews Tom Wolfe's 'From Bauhaus To Our House', which explains how modernist architecture took over American buildings despite being widely disliked, through a combination of European influence, academic capture, and institutional pressures. Longer summary

The book explores how modern architecture, originating from socialist artistic movements in Europe, conquered American architecture despite being unpopular with the public. After fleeing Nazi Germany, modernist architects were given prestigious positions in American universities, where they quickly eliminated traditional architectural teaching. Though most people disliked the new style, institutional pressures and loss of traditional crafting expertise made it dominant. The book follows the movement's evolution through various schools and styles, all maintaining the core modernist principles while fighting amongst themselves about subtle theoretical differences. Scott praises Wolfe's uncompromising criticism but notes he would have appreciated more explanation of what the architects thought they were achieving. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the evolution of online culture wars from atheism to feminism to race, analyzing the dynamics of these shifts and speculating on future trends. Longer summary

Scott Alexander traces the evolution of online culture wars from New Atheism through feminism to the current focus on race, examining how each movement rose and fell in popularity. He analyzes the dynamics of these shifts using concepts like fashion cycles and signaling theory, and speculates on the future trajectory of culture war topics. The post explores how terms like 'SJW' and 'woke' impacted discourse, the rise and potential decline of New Socialism, and draws parallels to longer-term cycles of mainstream institutional values. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'The Cult of Smart' by Freddie DeBoer, praising its main arguments while criticizing several aspects, particularly DeBoer's stance on education reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Freddie DeBoer's book 'The Cult of Smart', which argues that intelligence is largely innate and that society's obsession with academic achievement is misguided. The review praises the book's main theses but criticizes DeBoer's arguments on race, meritocracy, and education reform. Alexander particularly takes issue with DeBoer's support for expanding public education despite acknowledging its limitations, leading to a passionate critique of the school system as harmful to children. Shorter summary

The post critically examines the impact of India's 1991 economic reforms, suggesting that the country's economic growth began earlier and that the causes are more complex than commonly believed. Longer summary

This post examines the economic reforms in India and their impact on poverty reduction and economic growth. The author challenges the widely held belief that the 1991 reforms were the primary cause of India's economic boom. By analyzing various studies and economic data, the post suggests that India's growth trajectory began earlier, possibly in the mid-1970s or early 1980s. The exact causes of this growth remain unclear, with various factors such as trade liberalization, public investment, and political attitudes towards business being potential contributors. The author also discusses the potential impact of socialist policies on developing countries and the importance of understanding these economic shifts for future policy-making and arguments against certain forms of socialism. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'History of the Fabian Society', examining how this socialist organization became influential and why its ideas were compelling in late 19th century Britain. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Edward Pease's 'History of the Fabian Society', exploring how this small group of socialist intellectuals became highly influential in British politics and beyond. The post examines the Fabian Society's origins, strategies, and reasons for success, while also analyzing the historical context that made their ideas so appealing at the time. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander compares the cost of the GOP tax bill to other expensive projects, reflecting on how society scrutinizes different types of costly proposals. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on the GOP tax bill, comparing its cost to other expensive projects and programs. He expresses concern that people, including himself, tend to scrutinize well-intentioned but expensive ideas more than clearly bad ideas with little benefit. Scott suggests there might be a 'toxoplasma effect' where debatable issues get more attention than obviously problematic ones. He concludes by stating he might support Bernie Sanders in the next election, despite his libertarian leanings, because he believes we have 'antibodies to socialism' that allow proper scrutiny, unlike other potentially harmful policies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Malcolm Muggeridge's autobiography, examining his experiences exposing Stalin's regime and the West's willful ignorance of Soviet crimes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Malcolm Muggeridge's autobiography 'Chronicles of Wasted Time', focusing on Muggeridge's experiences as a journalist in the Soviet Union during Stalin's regime and his later disillusionment with socialism. The review highlights Muggeridge's cynical worldview, his role in exposing Stalin's atrocities, and the widespread willful ignorance of Western intellectuals towards Soviet crimes. Scott reflects on the importance of contrarianism and rationality in evaluating evidence, while also noting Muggeridge's later questionable stances on other issues. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'A Future for Socialism', finding its economic proposals underwhelming but valuable for its insights on corporate governance and principal-agent problems. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews John Roemer's book 'A Future for Socialism', which proposes a system where everyone owns an equal share of nationalized industries through non-transferable stock coupons. The book argues this would align incentives and solve public goods problems. Scott finds the basic income aspect underwhelming and questions some assumptions, but appreciates Roemer's clear thinking on capitalism's strengths. The review highlights how joint-stock corporations effectively solve principal-agent problems, which Scott finds to be the book's most valuable insight. Shorter summary