作为经济学大师，Stigler在其回忆录中谈经济学最多，读了感觉收获也最大。不过内容太多，如何整理笔记还没有想好。这里先说说Stigler关于社会方面的一些看法。

作者有个很有意思的观察，坚定的政治观点往往伴随着无知。“…my lifetime as an observer of young adults in college convinces me that a modest knowledge is all that is needed for, or possibly even compatible with, strong political view. (p. 138)”在我看来，越是无知的人越倾向于认为自己正确别人错误，这并不限于政治领域。与信念相关的还有激情，煽起人们的战争激情，往往使收税更容易。“… the passions of war make ot possible to shift the costs of war among people in a way that one cannot easily, or possibly at all, shift the financial costs of taxation for tribute or ransom. (p. 59)”当然，我的生活经验表明，无知和激情也使募捐容易。

学者讨论社会问题，重要的是知识，只有这方面才是其优势所在，而不是良知、立场等。因此没有充分的知识基础就提出社会问题的对策是学者的不道德。“…for a scholar to give explicit solutions to hard social problems on the basis of inadequate knowledge was almost immoral. (p. 187)”

作者虽然是经济学家，但对社会问题也有深刻的洞见。例如，公共政策，往往就是集团利益博弈的结果。“(Public policies)…are usually designed by particular group in a society for their own benefit. (p. 115)”博弈中，小集团往往占大便宜。“…small groups do better in politics than large groups, certainly per capita and at times in the aggregate. (p. 118)”强势集团总是占便宜。“…no matter how disinterested the goal of public policy, the policy is bent to help politically influential groups at the cost of the less influential. (p. 119)”因此，政治影响力意味着收入。“…groups possessing political influence use the political process effectively to increase their incomes. (p. 120)”我觉得这些道理都是放之四海而皆准，在各个层面上皆然，只要有资源，涉及分配。

如回忆录标题表明，作者反对管制。他认为管制是利益使然而非认识误区。“… the prime mover of public regulation is self-interest, not ignorance. (p. 56)”

在经济学家眼中，万物皆有代价，包括美名。因此，恶人收入往往更高。“Do sinners always earn more than the virtuous who combat them? Probably yes; one must be compensated for bearing the opprobrium of sinning. (p. 95)”

作者关于民族性有个有趣的说法，英法美遵守法律的情况，“I concluded that the British obeyed all laws, the French none, and the Americans obeyed those laws that deserved obedience—in retrospect, something of a simplification. (p. 143)”另个有趣的说法是所谓“历史证明”，往往意味着没有证据。“They support Bishop Stubb’s famors remark that when someone says ‘History proves,’ that phrase should be replaced by ‘I propose to assume without a shred of evidence.’ (p. 214)”

上述零散的评论，堪称一针见血。

斯蒂格勒谈大学—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记

斯蒂格勒谈学者—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记

斯蒂格勒谈专家—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记

斯蒂格勒谈知识—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记

斯蒂格勒谈学界—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记

斯蒂格勒谈发表—读Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist札记