Michael Munger on the Perfect vs. the Good

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4.7 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2023

⏱️ 75 minutes

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Summary

Is the perfect really the enemy of the good? Or is it the other way around? In 2008, Duke University economist Michael Munger ran for governor and proposed increasing school choice through vouchers for the state's poorest counties. But some lovers of liberty argued that it's better to fight for eliminating public schools instead of trying to improve them. Munger realized his fellow free-marketers come in two flavors: directionalists--who take our political realities as given and try to move outcomes closer to the ideal--and destinationists--who want no compromises with what they see as the perfect outcome. Listen as Munger talks to EconTalk's Russ Roberts about two different strategies for achieving political goals. Along the way, they discuss rent control, the minimum wage, and why free-market policies are so rare.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, Conversations for the Curious, part of the Library of Economics
0:07.0	and Liberty.
0:08.0	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover
0:13.0	Institution.
0:14.0	Go to econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode and find links down
0:18.6	the information related to today's conversation.
0:21.6	You'll also find our archives with every episode we've done going back to 2006.
0:26.8	Our email address is mail at econtalk.org.
0:29.8	We'd love to hear from you.
0:33.8	Today is March 14, 2023 and my guest is economist Mike Munger of Duke University.
0:44.8	This is Mike's record extending 44th appearance here in Icon Talk.
0:48.6	And we are recording this just two days before the 17th birthday of econ talks for our
0:54.1	first episode in 2006.
0:56.7	So Mike averages two plus episodes a year which you know that may not be everyone's
1:00.5	cup of tea but it is mine.
1:02.8	And I know there are at least a few others who agree.
1:05.2	Mike was last year in October of 2022 discussing industrial policy.
1:09.6	Mike, welcome back to econ talk.
1:11.3	Thank you Russ.
1:12.3	I appreciate it.
1:14.3	Our topic for today is a recent essay of yours.
1:16.9	I love the title.
	...

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