ABSTRACT
In 1941, Abba Lerner wrote an essay entitled “The Economics of the Steering Wheel.” In the opening paragraph, he invited the reader to enter a fantasy world, where mad motorists on Mars perpetually flirted with death by submitting themselves to the mercy of an unconventional interplanetary highway system. In the scenario he described, automobiles were guided by a high-tech system of specialized braking devices and cleverly crafted roads rather than by living beings (Martians) who could skillfully direct their vehicles by employing the use of a steering wheel. Instead, these motorists relied on high curbs that were designed to maneuver wayward vehicles back onto the road. Most autos would bounce erratically from curb to curb, their passengers averting disaster despite having forsaken the power to control their own destiny.1 Likening this state of affairs to a bad dream, Lerner suggested that Earthlings should be grateful that their fate is governed by more sensible (if less sophisticated) methods.
