The rational approach to Hare Krishna

by John Nash Jr. on 19 Mar 2010 in Features

As Nash did in his time at Princeton, we will discredit widely held economic truths at LSE through reason.

Assume ubiquitous queues for Hare Krishna meals. We posit that non-consumption of this well-intentioned and free food makes complete economic – and therefore absolute – sense. It will save time, (widely accepted to be worth money), as well as your Union, your purchasing power, and life prospects.

By definition, the democratically elected Sabbatical Officers of the LSE Students Union are humble representatives of LSE students, in spite of their sub-average academic performance. Let us make the assumption, based on candid observation, that at LSE, our officers actually only work full-time for 30 weeks per year and 20 hours per week, accounting for cigarette breaks, friendly and productive talks with students, and early evening pints. With a salary of £27,000 or so per annum, this yields an hourly wage of £45. Logically, spending a comfortable 20 minutes per day in the said ubiquitous Hare Krishna queue, not even accounting for the contingency of London weather, costs the average LSE student £15. Since there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, here is what you, homo economicus, should be doing instead.

Skip the free Hare Krishna meal. Stride determinedly past the queue with the conviction of your own rationality and pity for those inefficient hippies waiting in line. Go to the SU Bar to make a real difference. Remember, we must save the Union and it is apparently the best food on campus! For about £3 per meal you can purchase some actually edible goods.

After the enjoyable meal, go to the SU shop and buy luxury earplugs for £2.

As an LSE student, it is safe to assume that your life revolves around studying in the library for hours on end. Spending 4 hours per day is taken as a minimum to pass. Earplug-induced silence can earn you concentration efficiency gains which might save you 30 minutes per day. If you do the maths, this translates to net savings of £112.5 per week. Then subtract the lunch OPEX and earplugs CAPEX.

Now consider the outcome of these efficiency gains on your career prospects and future earnings. A better degree yields a better job, translating into more utility. In alternative, more spare time from studying gives you time to pursue online applications and extra-curricular activities to bolster your CV. Buying earplugs instead of free Hare Krishna food facilitates the achievement of tremendous utility gains over the next 60 years of your life. Assume a 2 per cent discount rate and multiply any annualized return by 35 to estimate life-long added value.

Overall, by buying earplugs and an SU Panini, you will have preserved your dignity, eaten decent food, helped the Union’s finances, saved over a Benjamin’s worth of time each week, and optimised your pension prospects. It’s fairly straight-forward.

Do the right thing. Think to yourself: what would Nash do? Be rational.

Related posts:

  1. Talk about free food

This entry was posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 07:24 and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Mark Love

    “Let us make the assumption, based on candid observation, that at LSE, our officers actually only work full-time for 30 weeks per year and 20 hours per week, accounting for cigarette breaks, friendly and productive talks with students, and early evening pints. With a salary of £27,000 or so per annum, this yields an hourly wage of £45. Logically, spending a comfortable 20 minutes per day in the said ubiquitous Hare Krishna queue, not even accounting for the contingency of London weather, costs the average LSE student £15.”

    so the SU sabbatical officers’ time is each worth £45 per hour based on their wage, not the average LSE student, also you’re not publishing the time spent waiting in the SU queue. In addition, based on the text, you say that the earplugs will result in time saving when learning in the library (which you quoted at a ridiculous amount), then claimed that this will result in a better grade degree, which time saving alone will not do.

    economics is not about only looking at half the picture, and assumptions are usually derived from axioms, not opinion.

  • lsestudent

    the Hare Krishnas are doing a good job feeding all these students daily, without them many students would find it difficult to find time to cook healthy meals for themselves and would instead pig out on junk food.

    If you’ve eaten there food and would like it to continue at lse for future lse students pls show your support by kindly donating to the hare krishnas (reg charity ‘Food For All’) at the secure site below:

    http://www.matchlessgifts.org.uk/index.html

    click on ‘donate now’ for secure payment site.

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