tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4748060798655400108.post6368880287657114735..comments2023-11-02T08:55:35.510-07:00Comments on Market Design: Martha Nussbaum on same sex marriageAl Rothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02232854038397912604noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4748060798655400108.post-2601711341137845562010-01-07T08:45:17.114-08:002010-01-07T08:45:17.114-08:00Incidentally, I'm not sure all the things you&...Incidentally, I'm not sure all the things you've labeled "repugnance" are usefully lumped together; in particular, I think at the heart of objections to markets in medicine, especially donor tissues, and prostitution, there's a sort of repugnance about money that's involved. You can point to locations with norms about men indirectly transferring money to women for sex, or people making decisions with implications both for health and wealth in which they trade the two against each other, and you can make a rational case to anyone who's smart and willing to listen that these things already have their prices, and that the markets are simply inefficient, but a lot of people separate "money" from a lot of other activities (often to the detriment of their nonfiscal happiness, I think; I think a lot of excess weight people place on earning money originates from the same place as repugnance toward money-mediated markets).<br /><br />So it might be that in the case of same-sex marriage, there really is a visceral "repugnance" (in the non-economist's sense), even if that isn't required for market repugnances. Horse meat bans might straddle the two; I think people who oppose the sale of horse meat would also oppose people raising it for their own consumption, but might feel they can only justify the invasion of privacy to outlaw it where it becomes commerce.<br /><br />I'm sure I'll be thinking more about this, though.dWjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072494989829344049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4748060798655400108.post-22540008403111618562010-01-07T08:33:25.927-08:002010-01-07T08:33:25.927-08:00I think most of the people who support civil union...I think most of the people who support civil unions but oppose marriage for same-sex couples have vaguely Hayekian reasons for doing so; there's a sense that institutions that have developed a certain way may contain wisdom that we're not capable of consciously grasping. Recognizing same-sex marriages in a handful of states for several years may provide an illustration, within the limits imposed by confounding factors, of what kind of impact the change has, and might affect public opinion down the road; on the other hand, it may simply reduce repugnance due to familiarity. (A "normalizing" effect.)dWjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072494989829344049noreply@blogger.com