The slobosophy of freakonomics

24Jan08

In Newsweek economist Eric Finkelstein, co-author of the book The fattening of America, is being interviewed about his thoughts on “how the obesity epidemic has been shaped by economics, and what we can do to reverse the trend”. But reading the article it becomes clear that Finkelstein, being a free market and free choice hugger, is pretty okay with obesity.

We’re fatter, but that does not mean that we are worse off. We could do without the low-cost food or the new technology, but most Americans would prefer not to. The reason is that the costs of being thin, in terms of what they would have to forgo, have just gotten so high that people are saying “I’d rather be fat” than make the increasingly difficult sacrifices necessary to be thin.

Almost with pride he mentions his uncle Al, a succesful lawyer who made a conscious descision to be fat rather than less succesful.

In fact, if he spent less time at the firm and more time exercising, it is very likely he would not be nearly as rich or successful. Like many of us, he chose a career that requires him to be sedentary for 40-plus hours per week. Not to mention the high-calorie client dinners a few nights a week.

Finkelstein is obviously a proponent of freakonomics which states that more or less everything in life can be explained in economic terms. Which just doesn’t make any sense. If obesity was an inevitable consequence of economic wealth, like Finkelstein claims, there would be a clearer correlation between the two. An international comparison shows that this isn’t the case. Rich countries like Switzerland, Japan and most of Scandinavia all have relatively slim inhabitants. And mexicans are almost as fat as americans.

Besides, where does this line of reasoning take us? Is it rational to stop brushing your teeth and skipping showers? To change underwear once a month? It sure would save a lot of time – and time, as the clichée goes, is money.

He may be praised by freakonomists, but in my book uncle Al is just a fat slob.

Filed under: Books, Economy, Health, Society   |  1 Comment
Tags: Eric Finkelstein, freakonomics, obesity, slobosophy