The World Question Center de Edge (ese maravilloso invento de John Brockman, del que hablamos hace poco) acaba de publicar su edición de 2006 donde 119 intelectuales de la "tercera cultura" (o sea verdaderos intelectuales, mezcla de científico y humanista) contestan a la pregunta "What is your dangerous idea?" propuesta por Steven Pinker:
The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?
Tyler Cowen resume sus favoritos en Marginal Revolution, y merece la pena leerlo (en realidad las 119 "dangerous ideas" merecerían 119 posts). Sin embargo no cita una que para Don Boudreaux, en Cafe Hayek, es su idea favorita: la propuesta de Michael Shermer, editor de Skeptic. La recoge Marcelino Fuentes (Two counterintuitive ideas) para resaltar las similitudes entre economía de mercado y evolución. Ambos son contraintuitivos :y por tanto difíciles de aceptar por la gente:
People have a hard time accepting free market economics for the same reason they have a hard time accepting evolution: it is counterintuitive. Life looks intelligently designed, so our natural inclination is to infer that there must be an intelligent designer — a God. Similarly, the economy looks designed, so our natural inclination is to infer that we need a designer — a Government.
Pero, aunque sean conceptos "difíciles", del mismo modo que la evolución es la "solución" para entender la diversidad de la vida, la combinación de economía de mercado y de democracia puede ser la solución para acabar con los conflictos humanos. Su "idea peligrosa" es: "Where goods cross frontiers, armies won't":
Data from the new sciences of evolutionary economics, behavioral economics, and neuroeconomics reveals that when people are free to cooperate and trade (such as in game theory protocols) they establish trust that is reinforced through neural pathways that release such bonding hormones as oxytocin. Thus, modern biology reveals that where people are free to cooperate and trade they are less likely to fight and kill those with whom they are cooperating and trading.
My dangerous idea is a solution to what I call the "really hard problem": how best should we live? My answer: A free society, defined as free-market economics and democratic politics — fiscal conservatism and social liberalism — which leads to the greatest liberty for the greatest number. Since humans are, by nature, tribal, the overall goal is to expand the concept of the tribe to include all members of the species into a global free society. Free trade between all peoples is the surest way to reach this goal.
Además, resalta el concepto de mercado como sistema de cooperación que permite desarrollar confianza entre personas, y no sólo como sistema de competencia como se asume normalmente.
