Fukyama, Reagan’s ideological theorist and author of “The End of History,” is now writing that Reaganomics destroyed the balance between individual ambition and liberal democracy needed to make a free market work. In essence he says that the USA is no longer at the end of history, that is a model for the world, but a failing experiment of what happens when the pursuit of wealth overbalances the innate desire most people have for their own welfare.
There is a surprising precedent for Fukyama’s current view on the front page of the Ave. Watch and listen to BF Skinner talk about the power of random reinforcement. Pigeons, as well as people, will work much harder for religion than they will for food. In the case of a pigeon in a cage, pecking a “feed me” button can be shaped by giving the bird its Purina pellets n demand. However, if instead of regularly delivering the pellets, the machine makes awards at irregular, even random interval, the poor pigeon will choose the random reward, peck , pecking away … even to the point of starvation. Skinner uses this fact of behavior to explain gambling and religion. Does it also explain Reaganomics?
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Sorry if I posted twice – i refreshed the page too quickly