On weekends I continue to plug through Cheryl Misak's bio of Frank Ramsey, which has been a bit of a slow go. I knew him from the legends of his interaction with Wittgenstein but also his polymathism (died at 27 after making fundamental contributions to philosophy, math, and economics)
Of course, given where I am in life professionally, it was his contributions to economics that intrigued me most. And though I can't fathom the depths of his mathematical formulas and, frankly, don't even try, he does ask good questions: "What is the optimal level of taxation?" and "What is the optimal level of savings, for a society?" I.e. How much should we save for future generations? The second question brought with it a couple of corollaries: "to what extent should we discount the enjoyment of future generations relative to our own?" and "What is the optimal level of the taxation of savings?" The latter is directly relevant to today's discussions of capital gains rates and even the treatment of unrealized gains in estates.
Given how closely Ramsey worked not just with Keynes but also with Arthur Pigou (famed for "Pigovian externalities", i.e. the notion that those who cause damage that impacts future generations (pollution) should bear some of those costs), these are important questions indeed.
Sorry this is a particularly boring post. Today I am kind of using the blog as a place to take notes for myself in the future.
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