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Look, the planet and the Republic are both in grave danger, possibly doomed. But it's Friday night, I've just had a couple of glasses of wine, so I'm going to talk briefly about ... fruit and economic theory 1/
OK, two pieces of background. I recently got back from almost a month in Europe, cycling and vacationing, and while it's nice to not be living out of a suitcase, the adjustment back to reality is proving a bit harder than in the past, for a variety of reasons 2/
The other piece of background is that I'm really into breakfast. I start almost every day with fairly brutal exercise – i'm 66 and fighting it; today that meant an hour-long run in the park. Breakfast, usually starting with yoghurt and fruit, is the reward 3/
So one of the best things about coming home is that some seasonal fruits -- things that aren't available all year round, at least in version you'd want to eat – have arrived. Mangoes! Fresh figs! 4/
Are these fruits better than other fruits? Objectively, no. What makes them so great now is precisely the fact that you can't get them most of the year. And that, of course, tells you that standard consumer choice theory is all wrong 5/
The textbooks (mine included) tell you that more choice is always better. But a lot of things gain value precisely because they aren't an option most of the time. I'd probably get tired of fresh figs and mangoes if I could get them all year round. 6/
Does this have any policy implications? Probably not. What really really matters is being able to afford health care, decent housing, and good education; the things I'm talking about are trivial. 7/
But still, if you imagine that being rich enough to have anything you want, any time you want it, would make you happy, you're almost surely wrong. Limits are part of what makes life worth living. And the big question is, will those peaches be ripe by morning? 8/
