https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/ A [retired] college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:59:19 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/#comment-25577 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:59:19 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com/?p=3067#comment-25577 Narcissism, self-pity and depression are a nasty combination…no economy can protect us from it.

]]> https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/#comment-25576 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:37:57 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com/?p=3067#comment-25576 There is a lot of stress out there right now. A man killed his family just yesterday. Of course he has a choice and control but in his mind (in the state that it was) his decision was “correct”. But most of us will not kill our families and then suicide. But vices always do well in an economic downturn – sex, drugs, and gambling. And these are not good choices either – really. We can express ourselves differently and choose differently (obviously millions of people have been doing so for thousands of years) But like you, I’m not sure I understand what compells us to throw our hands up and make choices that seem extreme to the norm.

]]> https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/#comment-25575 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:48:13 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com/?p=3067#comment-25575 Is optimism a realistic reaction to difficulty?

]]> https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/#comment-25574 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:47:43 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com/?p=3067#comment-25574 Thirty years ago, wasn’t the Japanese economy the envy of the West?
I recall managers praising Japanese corporations and mimicking them in training American workers.
Do individuals have a choice about their behavior during a recession?
This isn’t about SSA, but it is about the same argument: how much control do we have over our lives and how much is determined by factors outside our control?
Old psychological theory of internal vs. external locus of control.

]]> https://wthrockmorton.com/2009/01/20/44/#comment-25573 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:57:07 +0000 https://www.wthrockmorton.com/?p=3067#comment-25573 Evan
That’s so sad. A nation’s wealth comes from it’s productive capacity. Most politicians aren’t smart enough to realize this. Rubles, Pesos, Dollars have no intrinsic value. It’s the goods and services the nation produces for itself and other nations that have the value.
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Japan is a particularly sad case. Their economy has been in the toilet for nearly 20 years because of bad government policy. And now as the world heads into another depression they will fall even further.

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