Yeah, I agree that estimating welfare (either average realized welfare or capacity for welfare) this way is a bad strategy for a number of reasons. There are going to be many confounders and the framing of the thought experiment obscures rather than clarifies the issue.
Yeah, I agree that estimating welfare (either average realized welfare or capacity for welfare) this way is a bad strategy for a number of reasons. There are going to be many confounders and the framing of the thought experiment obscures rather than clarifies the issue.