Economia
Sexo
Como sempre, Becker e Posner tratam de assuntos interessantes e polêmicos. E, claro, você só está lendo isto por causa do título, né?
:-)
The death of Pope John Paul II is a reminder of the profound changes in sexual mores over the past half century in the United States and many other countries, of the Pope’s strong defense of conventional Roman Catholic sexual morality (including opposition to abortion, contraception, married priests, and all nonmarital sexual activity, including homosexual sex and even masturbation), and of the growing gulf between that morality and the actual sexual behavior of Roman Catholics in the United States (which is, on average, similar to that of other segments of the community), including the recent sex scandals involving the priesthood.
Let us consider first why sexual morality has changed so much over the past half century. If one takes an economic approach to the question, then since the benefits of sex in the sense of the pleasure or relief of tension that it yields have deep biological roots, it is probably to the cost side that we should look for an answer. The costs of engaging in sexual activity have fallen dramatically over the last half century (AIDS notwithstanding), for many reasons. One was the discovery that penicillin is a safe, certain, and inexpensive cure for syphilis. Another was improvements in contraceptive technology that have greatly reduced the likelihood of an unwanted birth (with minimal interference with sexual pleasure). It is true that the number of unwanted births has risen, but this is because other factors influence that number besides contraceptive technology. And to the extent that improved contraceptive technology induces more sexual activity by making sex safer, the number of unwanted births will not fall by the full percentage reduction in the probability of such a birth; the reduced probability per sexual act is somewhat offset by an increase in the number of acts. Legalizing abortion has further reduced the risk of an unwanted birth, although legalization can be viewed as a response to, rather than a cause of, a change in sexual mores—or more plausibly as both.
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- Economia E Sexo
Posner e Becker, no seu blogue, escrevem sobre a Revolução Sexual. Posner inicia o diálogo questionando-se porque é que a moralidade sexual sofreu tantas modificações nos últimos 50 anos, proponde-nos uma "abordagem económica": «Uma vez que...
- Mercado De Casamentos
Robert Frank expõe como funciona o mercado de casamentos, na coluna Economic View deste domingo, em The New York Times. O modelo ajuda a explicar a revolução sexual dos anos 60 e o tamanho das residências e atitude em relação ao risco hoje...
- Mercado De Casamentos
Robert Frank expõe como funciona o mercado de casamentos, na coluna Economic View deste domingo, em The New York Times. O modelo ajuda a explicar a revolução sexual dos anos 60 e o tamanho das residências e atitude em relação ao risco hoje...
- Revolução E Evolução Da Macroeconomia
Revolution and Evolution in Twentieth-Century Macroeconomics Michael Woodford Princeton University* June 1999 The twentieth century has seen profound progress in economic thought. This has been associated, among other things, with the progress of...
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O capital sexual também se deprecia? Se você fosse um ator pornô (ainda por cima italiano) famoso, você se aposentaria aos 40 anos de idade? Bem, Rocco Sifredi está fazendo isto agora, embora vá continuar nos bastidores (não, não estará fazendo...
Economia
Sexo
Como sempre, Becker e Posner tratam de assuntos interessantes e polêmicos. E, claro, você só está lendo isto por causa do título, né?
:-)
The death of Pope John Paul II is a reminder of the profound changes in sexual mores over the past half century in the United States and many other countries, of the Pope’s strong defense of conventional Roman Catholic sexual morality (including opposition to abortion, contraception, married priests, and all nonmarital sexual activity, including homosexual sex and even masturbation), and of the growing gulf between that morality and the actual sexual behavior of Roman Catholics in the United States (which is, on average, similar to that of other segments of the community), including the recent sex scandals involving the priesthood.
Let us consider first why sexual morality has changed so much over the past half century. If one takes an economic approach to the question, then since the benefits of sex in the sense of the pleasure or relief of tension that it yields have deep biological roots, it is probably to the cost side that we should look for an answer. The costs of engaging in sexual activity have fallen dramatically over the last half century (AIDS notwithstanding), for many reasons. One was the discovery that penicillin is a safe, certain, and inexpensive cure for syphilis. Another was improvements in contraceptive technology that have greatly reduced the likelihood of an unwanted birth (with minimal interference with sexual pleasure). It is true that the number of unwanted births has risen, but this is because other factors influence that number besides contraceptive technology. And to the extent that improved contraceptive technology induces more sexual activity by making sex safer, the number of unwanted births will not fall by the full percentage reduction in the probability of such a birth; the reduced probability per sexual act is somewhat offset by an increase in the number of acts. Legalizing abortion has further reduced the risk of an unwanted birth, although legalization can be viewed as a response to, rather than a cause of, a change in sexual mores—or more plausibly as both.
Leia o resto do texto que está bem legal!
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- Economia E Sexo
Posner e Becker, no seu blogue, escrevem sobre a Revolução Sexual. Posner inicia o diálogo questionando-se porque é que a moralidade sexual sofreu tantas modificações nos últimos 50 anos, proponde-nos uma "abordagem económica": «Uma vez que...
- Mercado De Casamentos
Robert Frank expõe como funciona o mercado de casamentos, na coluna Economic View deste domingo, em The New York Times. O modelo ajuda a explicar a revolução sexual dos anos 60 e o tamanho das residências e atitude em relação ao risco hoje...
- Mercado De Casamentos
Robert Frank expõe como funciona o mercado de casamentos, na coluna Economic View deste domingo, em The New York Times. O modelo ajuda a explicar a revolução sexual dos anos 60 e o tamanho das residências e atitude em relação ao risco hoje...
- Revolução E Evolução Da Macroeconomia
Revolution and Evolution in Twentieth-Century Macroeconomics Michael Woodford Princeton University* June 1999 The twentieth century has seen profound progress in economic thought. This has been associated, among other things, with the progress of...
-
O capital sexual também se deprecia? Se você fosse um ator pornô (ainda por cima italiano) famoso, você se aposentaria aos 40 anos de idade? Bem, Rocco Sifredi está fazendo isto agora, embora vá continuar nos bastidores (não, não estará fazendo...