Garth Zietsman
Garth Zietsman is a professional statistician who initially focused on psychological and social research at the Human Sciences Research Council, followed by banking and economics, and then medical research. Some of his research has appeared in academic journals. He has wide interests, with an emphasis on the social (including economics and politics) and life (mostly evolution, health and fitness) sciences, and philosophy. He has been involved with groups advocating liberty since 1990 and is currently consulting to the Freedom Foundation. He has written for a wide range of newspapers and journals.
Articles By This Author
The primary purpose of any enterprise is paramount
Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, put forward a description of how task specialisation and the division of labour spectacularly increased production and productivity. Economists of all stripes have since accepted this as obvious.
A well-ordered and disciplined society
Multi-ethnic societies pose challenges mono-ethnic societies do not have – the potential for misunderstanding, fundamental disagreement and mutual distrust.
Algorithms: what have they ever done for us?
During the 1980s, if you wanted a bank loan or a line of credit you needed to see the bank manager who would suss out your ability to pay and decide yes or no.
Energy and prosperity
The current kerfuffle around Iran has resulted in a sudden and sever shortage of oil in many places around the world – rich and poor alike. Like load-shedding in South Africa, this has led to the stark realisation that economies depend very closely on energy availability and stability.
Trust, division and economic growth
I have been reading and researching interpersonal trust recently because in my years of looking at the General Social Survey of the US I noticed it relates to many important aspects of life such as economic welfare and happiness.
The soul and the world of work
Work is an important part of life. It will account for a big slice of your time on earth. It is our means of survival and a stepping stone to our aspirations. It is an important source of social respect and status – both in terms of not being a burden or free-loader and for achieving relative status.
Wisdom and ideology
Humanity has evolved to the point, cognitively, socially and historically, where we have the self-awareness to be able to get beyond living through instinct, in
Corruption – its causes and consequences
The world regards corruption as a bad thing in itself and a sign of rot in general, but it evolves in society after society for
Thoughts on punishment
Punishment is important. Humans have evolved a tendency to punish free loaders, and other norm violators, because those norms are important for survival. Animals also
The miscommunication of the sexes
Louis Terman, creator of the Stanford-Binet IQ test, looked at sexual differences in responses to an extremely broad array of items including inkblots, interests, personality