Sabbatical ends. Macky's back in town.

Dynamite has returned from self-imposed exile. Many of the events and occurences of the past 60 days - Olympic games, PGA Tour playoffs, FOMC meeting, Democratic convention - would have made brilliant topics for this space, yet topicality in extrema is like too much of any good thing. Applying the principle of declining marginal utility to being well informed is not quite so simple.

 

The principle of declining marginal utility states that a consumer as he consumes more of one good, while keeping consumption of all other goods constant, he will receive less utility from each unit consumed of that good. 

 

If a person prefers being well-informed to uninformed, he will consume information to satisfy that preference. However, the pursuit of being well informed as well as what one must consume to do so is forever dynamic. Moreover, the individual units of "well-information" are highly variegated. When one particular news item ceases to be of interest such as ongoing election coverage, the consumer can tune it out in favor of another area of interest. Once enough time has lapsed where the information he possesses about the presidential election has exhausted its utility outright, the desire to accumulate a greater reserve of election knowledge will renew the cycle. Shifting amongst the subpreferences within the overarching goal of being well-informed does not change the level of one's well-information so long as consumption is constant. However, what happens when even a rational, sensible, well-informed person has had enough?

 

The presidential election in the United States is a perfect example of how an ongoing, major news story crowds out some lesser, though more significant events such as the transfer of security to Iraqi forces in Anbar province or the high-level discussion held by international military leaders regarding the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

 

When information can spread quickly and easily, separating wheat from chaff without missing small, important items becomes ever more difficult. Press freedom is invaluable to a democracy, but its overabundance, the shrillness of its tone, its sometimes amateurish democratization do turn off even those who value the benefits of knowing more about the world around them. Given editorial biases, well-information requires consumption of information from sources with opposing ideological perspectives. Often, the editorial articles in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have similar subjects, and it is interesting to see how each side, each point of view might apply the same factual evidence. 

 

As the quadrennial presidential thrill ride hurtles into the fourth turn, as the harvest moon approaches, and the hunter's moon inaugurates the apex of the political season, media outlets will vie ever harder for commercial and professional prominence. Scooping, topping, breaking a story first will fuel what the late HST called the 'feeding frenzy.' Greed from all corners, the burning money machines of campaign drives and the sound of countless Faustian bargains being sealed will make for one bloody fall. Remember to vote and help the needy.