http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/26/lol-gawker-claims-ferguson-riots-good-fo
Wanton destruction of people's stuff. Isn't it
great?
Gawker sure thinks so—and argues that there are undeniable
benefits. But wait: Don't hurl your laptop or smart phone through
your local convenience store's front window just yet! Let's examine
this claim.
Matt Bruenig, a writer for Demos and Salon, penned the
article, titled "Actually, Riots are Good: The Economic Case for
Riots in Feguson." Contrary to what the headline suggests, Bruenig
doesn't actually commit the broken window fallacy and argue, as
some Keynesians do, that destruction is economically beneficial.
One has to dig deep down into the article—past a deeply misleading
claim that "rioting is economically efficient"—to get to the crux
of the argument.
Bruenig thinks that under certain conditions, rioting is
efficient because it punishes the police for their bad behavior. If
police react to riots by killing fewer black teenagers, then the
cost in lives saved (in real dollars) outweighs the property
destruction.
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