Blame engineering

On institutions for siphoning blame

April 27, 2020 — June 30, 2022

adaptive
cooperation
culture
economics
engineering
ethics
incentive mechanisms
institutions
tail risk
wonk
Figure 1

Notes on the engineering of blame as a thing in itself. Who do we decide is culpable for what? What is a structural problem, and what is a personal problem?

Is it worth blaming people for things instead of institutions, because powerful institutions are built to stick it to enemies?

Declaring people responsible for things seems to be very important in the maintenance of institutions that can execute on our moral wetware.

1 Incoming

  • Hot Money: porn, power and profit

  • The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics:

    The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics says that when you observe or interact with a problem in any way, you can be blamed for it. At the very least, you are to blame for not doing more. Even if you don’t make the problem worse, even if you make it slightly better, the ethical burden of the problem falls on you as soon as you observe it. In particular, if you interact with a problem and benefit from it, you are a complete monster.

Connection to messenger shooting.

2 References

Bartling, and Fischbacher. 2012. “Shifting the Blame: On Delegation and Responsibility.” The Review of Economic Studies.
Friedman. 2013. “How to Blame People Responsibly.” The Journal of Value Inquiry.
Hood. 2010. “The Blame Game: Spin, Bureaucracy, and Self-Preservation in Government.” In The Blame Game.
Skærbæk, and Christensen. 2015. “Auditing and the Purification of Blame.” Contemporary Accounting Research.
Williams. 2003. “Blame and Responsibility.” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.