The Fallacy of composition reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Fallacy of composition

A fallacy of composition arises when one claims the whole is true because its part is true. For example, my Korean friend is smart therefore all of Korean people are smart -- this is a fallacy. In Keynesian macroeconomics, the "paradox of thrift" is an example of this fallacy: increasing saving (or "thrift") is obviously good for an individual, since it provides for retirement or a "rainy day," but if everyone saves more, it may cause a recession by reducing consumer demand.

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