Years of Poems and Spirits

I have been constantly exposed to the proposition that man’s role in history is no more than any other agents (weather, geology, random events, etc.) This idea per se is not controversial until it is used to undermine the goal of enlightenment. It seems to suggest that man is incapable of understand the materialistic world around him, let alone to say any chance to device ways to master it.

Related:
1. History determinism, “path dependence”. Source: Making Democracy Work by R. Putnam. Chapter 6 (p 179 has the def.)
2. On man’s reaction to material world and the subsequent definition as science and intelligence, etc. in Introdution, Chapter 1 in Rule of Experts, by Timothy Mitchell.

Prompted the following thoughts:
Claim: man’s only role in history is to find ways to justify what history tells him to do.

An interesting article (c)from NYT, about how political reaction being subconscious. Political sentiment has long been viewed as product of enlightenment and modernity. Now even that is proven as just a reflection of something timeless, and something material (with physical properties: action, reaction, bend, etc.) If we hope to change the world via political system or theory but in the end the urge is more subconscious—what does that tell you?

Here is a fuller, more comprehensive report from the Post.

Consumer Surplus: b/w top of demand curve and the market price
Producer Surplus: b/w bottom of supply curve and the market price

Effect of Tariff: Up market price -> reduced consumer surplus -> transfer to government (tariff income) and producer
Deadweight Losses: net cost to society of distorting free-market price. Efficiency loss.

According to Partial Equillibrium Theory in a small country setting:
Quota causes the same effect (through price adjusting to shortage of supply).
However, unlike in Tariff’s case, the government does not collect tax the increased price.
Quota Rent: what otherwise would be tariff income in quota scheme. May be recuperated through auction of import licensing.

Compared with the above two, export subside is a more attractive tool.
Government assistance lowers the supply curve. No change to consumer surplus. No deadweight losses. Only limited loss of efficiency.

In classical price-specie-flow model, the quantity theory of money states:
MsV = PY

Viewed the movie The Bridge of San Luis Rey . Definitely not worth the time. Since the script and the casting director were able to gather some of the most achieved actors and bring out their weakness in one show. It is a waste of money on settings and costume.