> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Rod Hay
>
> It would seem that lotteries have joined religion and tv as "opiates of
> the masses."
So by the logic of this paper can the Left write papers upholding the
virtues of the Gulag as a promoter of freedom in its promise of eventual
release from torture and work?
I love the "sense of open-ended possibility" as utility maximization. Brave
New World's "soma" becomes the ultimate in social utility, which of course
brings us to the obvious additional conservative argument for promoting
rampant drug use as rational utility maximization - hell, what else brings
such a complete sense of "open-ended possibility" as a hallucinogenic?
Can we file this paper under the category of the idiocy of contemporary
conservative thinkers?
-- Nathan Newman
>
> Rod Hay
>
> Michael Perelman wrote:
>
> > The summary of this article suggests that it throws some light on the
> > nature of dreams of well in a capitalist society.
> >
> > "Lotteries, Liberty, and Legislatures"
> >
> > BY: LLOYD R. COHEN
> > George Mason Law School
> >
> > Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
> > http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=210008
> >
> > Paper ID: George Mason Law & Economics Working Paper No. 00-01
> > Date: February 2000
> >
> > Contact: LLOYD R. COHEN
> > Email: Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Postal: George Mason Law School
> > 3401 N. Fairfax Drive
> > Arlington, VA 22201 USA
> > Phone: (703) 993-8048
> >
> > Paper Requests:
> > Contact Allen Moye, Associate Director for Public Services,
> > George Mason University School of Law Library, 3401 North
> > Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201. Phone:(703)993-8062.
> > Fax:(703) 993-8113. Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> > ABSTRACT:
> > The central purpose of this paper is to show that lottery play
> > is not economically irrational and uninformed. The paper
> > presents a theory of lottery tickets not as misguided inputs
> > into wealth production as some critics believe but as valuable
> > inputs in creating a sense of open-ended possibility,
> > specifically the possibility of escaping one's current life by
> > acquiring great wealth. In the course of the discussion the
> > claim that the lottery is a regressive tax is investigated and a
> > variety of empirical predictions are generated as to patterns of
> > purchase both across groups and by individuals. Finally the
> > insights gained from the earlier discussion are employed as a
> > springboard to reground the normative use of the assumption of
> > rational utility maximization.
> >
> > JEL Classification: H29
> >
> > --
> >
> > Michael Perelman
> > Economics Department
> > California State University
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Chico, CA 95929
> > 530-898-5321
> > fax 530-898-5901
>
> --
> Rod Hay
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> The History of Economic Thought Archive
> http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html
> Batoche Books
> http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/
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> Kitchener, Ontario
> N2G 3L1
> Canada
>
