@Gigacasting I had the exact opposite reaction. I'm a dedicated Caplan reader and find this test to be insanely difficult looking. You have to come in just hoping that you write down everything he expects of you (and I know his thoughts process well). It's ridiculous actually how much thinking is required imo.

@MatthewBarnett Interesting. I think it would be a good idea to set up a betting market for you winning by 2024.

@ForrestTaylor There are several problems with your arguments.

1) Banning child labor, especially in the developing world, is a horrible idea and social desirability bias at its worst. Economists as far left as Krugman admit this and is AFAIK the majority position. Do you think conditions improve for children when you ban it? What happens to them? In the third world, they become child prostitutes, trash pickers, or do backbreaking farm labor - their conditions don't just magically improve. They just find a different, worse job because they don't want to starve. Child labor was already decreasing significantly before it was banned in the U.S. because the US was getting richer and children could afford to stay home. The market sorts it out.

2) Our education does not successfully expose children to the world of ideas nor does it train for the job market well. The psychology of education literature overwhelmingly backs Caplan on this. Most everything taught is forgotten eventually after testing and it has very little effect on the cognitive ability of students (e.g. IQ or "teaching how to think"). The vast majority of students don't care about the world of ideas much and are just trying to get a good grade so they can get a credential. This won't change if you make education more anti-Philistine because most students don't share your preferences. They'll just be bored and go through the motions for the diploma and degree. They only care about job training. If they like this stuff, they'll likely do it on their own. Caplan loves the world of ideas, but the reality is that most don't. He's just not forcing his preferences on everyone else and expecting it to work.