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Uncertainty: Blessing or Curse?

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  • Machovec Frank M.

    (Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC 29303, USA)

Abstract

The concepts of free will and uncertainty are inseparably intertwined. This interdisciplinary essay, instead of expounding upon the technical difference between risk and uncertainty (as classically delineated by Frank Knight), assumes that both words bring to mind the same general idea to a layperson, namely, something that’s not certain to occur but may occur, whether or not the precise degree of likelihood can be calculated. With this simplification as a given, the article proceeds to analyze, first, the cultural perspective that’s a prerequisite to the existence of a belief in free will; second, the role of the limits of human knowledge in constraining the efficacy of the quest to battle uncertainty by building models of predictability and control in the physical sciences versus the social sciences; and third (and finally), the negative implications for capital-market health of attempting to satisfy, through the adoption of public policies of redress and entitlement based on a Rawlsian system of fairness, the alleged yearning by individuals to obviate distributional uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Machovec Frank M., 2015. "Uncertainty: Blessing or Curse?," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 2(2), pages 119-151, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:maneco:v:2:y:2015:i:2:p:119-151:n:7
    DOI: 10.1515/me-2015-6007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fredrik Andersson & Matthew Freedman & John Haltiwanger & Julia Lane & Kathryn Shaw, 2009. "Reaching for the Stars: Who Pays for Talent in Innovative Industries?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(538), pages 308-332, June.
    2. Timothy Besley, 2007. "The New Political Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(524), pages 570-587, November.
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