******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
You are undoubtedly correct here. This is mandarin consciousness at work. In Walter Ong's book on Orality he gives as a classic instance of this phenomenon when the mandarins in Korea opposed the introduction of an alphabetic system as they feared this would lead to the spread of literacy and eat into their power. Interesting. comradely Gary On Fri, Apr 20, 2018 at 9:37 AM, Louis Proyect via Marxism < [email protected]> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > The case of the arbitrary rigour of economics has interesting implications > in academia at large. An uncharitable person would say that the spurious > mathematical rigour of economics is simply gate-keeping for a professional > guild. The extremely technical skills required to master mainstream > economics limit the supply of would-be economists, generating a manageable > number of rent-seekers that can be paid handsomely. But this probably > extends to much of academia as well. Academia is peppered with examples > where “rigour” and “method” are elevated with no obvious epistemic > justification. One has to wonder if appeals to rigour are more often than > not guild building in order to justify large pay-checks by limiting the > supply of the participants. The trope of “how many angels can dance on the > tip of a pin” is a famous example of this spurious rigour. Medieval > theologians were accused of developing beautiful, often rigorous and > coherent systems, that deal with questions of no intellectual consequence. > Similarly, the same phenomenon probably emerges in some sector of > academia, given that rigour and opacity are a cheap way of signalling > expertise to institutions in order to justify large salaries. > > > full: https://colddarkstars.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/against- > economics-against-rigour/ > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/opt > ions/marxism/gary.maclennan1%40gmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
