This discussion contradicts the subject line. The economics profession SUCCEEDED, spectacularly, in doing what they were supposed to do. If anyone "failed" it would be the radicals, leftists, progressives, Marxists, heterodoxists or whatever who were unable to offer a viable, coherent alternative to the mainstream propaganda.
On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 12:47 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > raghu wrote: >> This agrees with what I have long suspected: the main use of >> mainstream economics is as propaganda. And in indoctrinating society >> about the virtues of selfishness. > > To some extent, the economics profession serves _its own_ purposes: it > involves a self-perpetuating mandarinate, involved in a discussion > with itself. > > Also, it's important to remember that the New Deal or > social-democratic liberal wing of economics does not believe in the > virtues of selfishness. After all, greed leads to a lot of market > failures. But this school of economics usually tries to solve the > problem in technocratic ways. Economists of both the neoliberal > (laissez-faire) and New Deal wings typically don't believe in > democracy beyond the anemic sort that prevails in most advanced > capitalist countries. > > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Sandwichman _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
