FreakonomicsBR

Freaks, Geeks and Economics

A Review of Freakonomics:

A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Will Rogers said, “It isn’t what a man doesn’t know that makes him ignorant. It’s the things he knows for sure that ain’t so makes him ignorant.” Steven Levitt, a self-described “rogue” economist, spends a good deal of time exposing a number of things we know for sure that just “ain’t so.” He does this in such an engaging way that most people who would normally have no interest in economics will find the book enjoyable. His constant challenging of the purveyors of conventional wisdom will bring a smile to all but the most jaded readers. But what is the book about, you ask? Exactly. The book is about 240 pages of the most interesting meanderings one would want to read. With no unifying theme other than the ability of Levitt to ask unusual and unexpected questions, he probes such varied topics as cheating among teachers and sumo wrestlers, how the Ku Klux Klan is like a group of realtors, why drug dealers still live with their moms, the precipitous decline of crime and thoughts on being a perfect parent.

However whimsical one might find the quirky twists of mind that give rise to Levitt’s investigations, the book is not without a serious side. The most important point of the whole book is that, in Einstein’s words, “For every problem, there is a solution that is simple and obvious, and wrong.” As superb pattern-recognition machines, human minds are able to distinguish trends, causes, effects and implications, even when they do not exist. Levitt points out how we often draw causal relationships that are unwarranted by the data or have been prejudiced by the lack of serious inquiry. We often choose the answer that is simple and obvious, and just as often, wrong. Learning to ask the kinds of questions that make us conscientious, informed consumers of a data-driven media is one of the chief benefits of the book.

Freakonomics is not without its dark side for Christian pro-life activists, however. One of the most interesting discussions Levitt pursues is the drop in crime over the past decade. Some would attribute it to better legislation, better prisons, a better economy or better policing. Levitt, on the other hand, points to a factor that is never brought into the popular discussion due to its potential as a hot potato. He attributes the steep drop in crime to the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade effectively legalizing abortion on demand. He asserts that the steep decline in live births to unwed poor mothers reduced the number of children born into poverty and broken homes and thus eliminated millions of children who would have otherwise been born into difficult circumstances. This took them out of the American population and also from our jails 20 to 30 years later.

Christians will no doubt find such a conclusion distasteful but they should also be warned as they continue to campaign for abortion reform. What will happen if they succeed? What would happen to the millions of unwanted children who would be born into a life of crime, poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy? Will Christians take responsibility for being truly pro-life and not just pro-birth? Will we take on the added burden of ministering to these broken, dysfunctional families? Will we make a concerted effort to not just bring these babies into the world but also assure that they are raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Will we see Twenty-First Century equivalents of George Mueller step up to the challenge of raising a generation of at-risk children abandoned by their fathers, given up by their mothers and left to fend for themselves? Levitt’s book has the potential to be a serious indictment for Christians who succeed in getting Roe v. Wade overturned without a plan for handling their success. If nothing else, Freakonomics will challenge us to think of old problems and their solutions in new ways.

by Rick Presley