Hard Problem of Economics

The micro-macro divide: Economics struggles to coherently connect the behavior of individual agents (assumed to be rational, self-interested) with the emergent phenomena of the whole economy (booms, busts, inflation). Models that work for a household or firm fail catastrophically at the national level (the fallacy of composition). The hard problem is that the economy is a complex, adaptive system of billions of interacting, emotional, and sometimes irrational people. It's like trying to predict the weather by studying a single molecule of air. The elegant mathematical models provide a comforting illusion of certainty but repeatedly break down in the face of real-world crises, bubbles, and panics.

Example: For an individual, saving money is prudent. But if everyone suddenly increases savings simultaneously (the "paradox of thrift"), aggregate demand plummets, businesses fail, unemployment rises, and people end up poorer overall. The rational individual act leads to a collectively irrational outcome. The hard problem: Economics cannot be reliably scaled up. Policies that seem sound in theory (austerity, deregulation) can trigger disaster in practice because the model's simplifying assumptions (perfect information, rational actors) evaporate in the chaotic reality of herds, fear, and speculation. The economy is a story we tell ourselves, and sometimes the characters rebel against the plot. Hard Problem of Economics.

by Enkigal January 24, 2026

West's Theory Of Isolated Economic Decimation

1) The jobs that AI (the latest generation of computing technology) will largely be isolated to many of the same jobs the previous generation of computers created, facilitated or enabled, and the technology will allow the workers left in a given job to do the work of 10, decimating the demand for any specific set of skills under the previous technical paradigm. The upshot is that - for a time - jobs which are not dependent on computers (e.g. carpenters, police, paramedics, doctors, refuse workers, power linesmen) will be less impacted by the rollout of ML and AI. And while, say, AI may beget only 10% of the previous need for architects using computers to draft, there will remain a need for program managers, prompt engineers, developers, mathematicians and system engineers needed to centrally manage AI and ML systems. 2) Eventually technology will advance the point that corporations push to have androids perform the remaining jobs that only humans could perform (e.g. carpenters, police, paramedics, doctors, refuse workers, power linesmen)and regions will need to have that debate on whether technology and commerce are the more important that human-centricity and a moralized human populace. Put forth by marketer, Zackery West (FlashPointLabs) on February 8th, 2024.

"I'm a mailman, so, according to West's Theory Of Isolated Economic Decimation, my job delivering mail should be fine as the Postal Service grows more efficient at correctly finding addresses to route dead letters to, and scheduling delivery drivers."

by Zack West February 18, 2024

West's Theory Of Specific Economic Destruction

Summary: AI will specifically destroy jobs created by computers in the first place, preserving 'offline' jobs, while minimally impacting work quality, and preserving gross productivity.

1) The jobs that AI destroys will largely be isolated to many of the same jobs the computers created, facilitated or enabled, 2) The more that workers in a given field were reliant upon computers, the lower the percentage of them will be required to accomplish the same output after AI is deployed; this reduction in demand for workers could be up to 90% in some market segments. 3) When this happens, work quality only suffers slightly; 4) When this happens, productivity is not reduced, and some companies may scale-up fewer workers to surpass previous productivity levels.

The take-away is that jobs that were largely or entirely not dependent on computers (or which predate computer) will be less impacted by the rollout of ML and AI. These jobs include carpenters, police, paramedics, doctors, refuse workers, power linesmen.

This will remain true until corporations push culture if not laws to have androids perform those remaining jobs left to humans (e.g. carpenters, police, paramedics, doctors, refuse workers, power linesmen). At that point, society will debate whether productivity is more important that anthropocentrism and protecting a moralized, industrious, human populations.

Put forth by Zackery West, marketer, in 2024.

reworded and resubmitted

"I'm a USPS door delivery mailman, so, according to West's Theory Of Specific Economic Destruction, my job delivering mail should be fine even if the Postal Service grows more efficient at correctly routing addresses and scheduling delivery drivers."

by Zack West February 18, 2024

Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Science

The theory that science is fundamentally shaped by political and economic forces—that what gets studied, how it's studied, who gets to study it, and what counts as knowledge are all influenced by power and money. The theory argues that science is not an ivory tower but a field of struggle, where research agendas reflect funding priorities, where methods reflect available resources, where conclusions reflect institutional interests. This doesn't mean science is false; it means science is human, situated, shaped by the conditions of its production. The Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Science explains why some questions get answered and others ignored, why some researchers thrive and others struggle, why science is never pure.

Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Science Example: "She'd dreamed of a pure science, untouched by politics or money. The Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Science showed her otherwise: every grant was a choice, every publication a negotiation, every finding shaped by who paid for it. Science wasn't corrupt; it was just real—shaped by the same forces that shape everything else. The purity she'd imagined had never existed."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Reality

The theory that reality itself—what we take to be real, true, given—is shaped by political and economic forces. The theory argues that reality is not simply discovered but constructed, that what counts as real depends on who has the power to define reality. This isn't idealism; it's realism about power. The Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Reality explains why certain truths are recognized and others suppressed, why some experiences are validated and others dismissed, why reality is never neutral. Those who control resources also control what counts as real—and what counts as real shapes what can be done.

Example: "He used to think reality was just... reality. Then he encountered the Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Reality: who decides what's real? Who benefits from that definition? Who is erased by it? Reality wasn't given; it was made—by power, for power. He started seeing the construction everywhere, and couldn't unsee it."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Efficiency

The theory that efficiency is fundamentally shaped by political and economic forces—that what counts as efficient, who gets to define it, and whose interests it serves are determined by power and money. The Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Efficiency argues that efficiency is not a technical concept but a political one, not a neutral measure but an economic weapon. It shows how efficiency definitions serve ruling classes, how they justify exploitation, how they exclude alternatives. The theory is the foundation of critical efficiency studies, of the recognition that efficiency is never just efficiency.

Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Efficiency Example: "He'd thought efficiency was just about doing things better—technical, neutral, good. The Theory of the Political and Economic Nature of Efficiency showed him otherwise: efficiency was a weapon. It was used to justify layoffs, to cut services, to externalize costs. The 'efficient' solution was usually the one that benefited those already in power. He stopped celebrating efficiency and started asking who was paying for it."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Psychology of Political, Economic, Social and Legal Systems

The study of how human psychology shapes and is shaped by the major systems that organize society—governments, markets, communities, courts. These systems aren't abstract machines; they're human creations that reflect human psychology and in turn shape it. Political systems channel our need for order and our desire for freedom; economic systems exploit our wants and fears; social systems satisfy our need for belonging; legal systems manage our conflicts and our sense of justice. The psychology of these systems reveals that they work not despite human irrationality but because of it—they're designed for creatures like us, with all our flaws and longings.

Psychology of Political, Economic, Social and Legal Systems Example: "She studied the psychology of political, economic, social and legal systems and realized they were all, at root, about managing the same thing: human nature. Politics managed our competing interests; economics managed our desires; social systems managed our need for connection; law managed our conflicts. Each system was a different technology for handling the fact that humans are complicated."

by Dumu The Void February 16, 2026