Sunk-Cost Fallacy

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This page is part of the EvoWiki encyclopedia of fallacies.

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Contents

Synonyms

  • Throwing good money after bad

Explanation

You commit the Sunk-Cost Fallacy if you continue a particular course of action solely because giving up would mean earlier efforts have been wasted.

From an economic point of view, what one has already invested is irrelevant to the decision of whether one should invest more. Either one expects a return on this new investment, or not. The earlier money is already spent, and should not enter into your decision.

Example

  • "We must continue to fight the war in Vietnam, otherwise our soldiers will have died in vain."

External links

  • Wikipedia [1]
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