Abstractions are an important tool for getting a handle on complex subjects. Marx put great emphasis on abstractions and on getting categories correct.
Market researchers use crude abstractions -- soccer moms or Nascar dads, which can be of some immediate use for framing a message. The right uses abstractions as pejoratives -- tax & spend, cut & run, liberals ... Much of the endless repetitions of posts about abstractions -- western leftists, fascism, .... seem more akin to the pejoratives without much content at all. Jim and Eban asked some interesting questions about rents & regulations. They got some response, but nothing like the discussions of abstractions. We can do better -- as the Democrats say. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
