Twenty-One / Finding Free Market Solutions, Vaccine Rumors that Don't Go Away
In this edition, read about the criticisms of free-market solutions in the weekly article. Then, listen to a conversation with Heidi Larson, who talks about how vaccine rumors start and why they don't go away.
This Week's Article
In Search of a Free Market Solution
A long time ago, the forefathers of economics set the stage for what came to be known as the free market economy. It all started with Adam Smith's classical work, titled An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, that laid the foundation of ideas of freedom and efficiency. This eighteenth-century classic revolutionized the way we look at economies today and inspired the economics textbooks taught at universities today.
Free market economics, driven by the infamous invisible hand, promotes production processes within an economy without any government intervention. The demand of goods by consumers and supply by producers sets the market equilibrium price and quantity at which the trade takes place. Smith termed this economic system as laissez-faire, a word of french origin that means 'leave alone.' The market, thus, should be left alone, free of government intervention.
To read the article in full, click on the link below.
What are we Listening to?
Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away – Heidi Larson (Between the Lines Podcast, Season 03, Episode 06)
The podcast introduces the book Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away, written by Heidi Larson, which talks about vaccine hesitancy and the underlying causes for a trust deficit around vaccines. She offers three layers for such behavior. Firstly, the newness and the extent of the pandemic and lack of understanding around diseases, immunity, and how vaccinations work. Second is the anxiety at the community level, and lastly, the worry that there lies a hidden politicization of international efforts.
She further talks about the spread of disinformation - misinformation, but to further political purposes - and its impact on the global vaccination drive. The podcast ends on an optimistic note, maintaining that active listening and being open to other views are the ingredients to build trust around vaccines.
Listen on Apple Podcast, using this link.
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