# America is not socialist

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-not-socialist/28183>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 4, 2000, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-not-socialist/28183 "2000-08-04T23:50:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2000, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-not-socialist/28183/121 "2000-08-23T09:07:14Z")

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The Ryan - interesting. You’re suggesting (for those who may be bewildered by the language) that even if we’re at a equilibrium point of marginal costs = marginal benefits, there may be an even higher equilibrium further along the scale, if only we increase or decrease regulation enough.

You are of course correct, from an entirely function-theoretic point of view. However for the global maximum to _not_ be the equilibrium point we would require at some point on the graph either:  
[list=1]  
[li]increased costs of regulation to result _directly_ in an increase in utility; or[/li][li]increased benefits of regulation to _directly_ decrease utility.[/li][/list=1]  
This is arguably a contradiction, by definition of ‘benefits’ and ‘costs’. I find it hard to envisage a cost curve which is not a decreasing function of utility; similarly surely a benefit curve must be an increasing function of utility. In this case there can be only one equilibrium point.

**However, since I hadn’t really considered this argument before I’m waiting for suggestions that I am wrong.**

As for continuity - if the two curves are strictly decreasing and increasing respectively, I _think_ that there can still only be one optimum regulation point, though there would not be a unique answer for how much utility it provides.

Hmm, although my degree was in mathematics, I’ve been a actuary (read economic statistician) for a few years and as such my theory on this is a little rusty. The above _seems_ to make sense. Do you disagree?

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