And then there are those of us who are "mirror images" of neither pedants nor technique rats.
On Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 2:53 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > Sandwichman wrote: > > Some of these autodidact cranks make more sense than the academicians who > > prattle on 'in the name of" revered authorities whose wisdom they've > imbibed > > second-hand (at best) through introductory textbooks and hear-say. > > "Actually-existing Keynesian" for example, is a compendium of Aesopian > > fables and condensations that bear scant resemblance to ideas of J.M. > > Keynes. > > FWIW, I'd say that most self-styled "Keynesian" economists would not > care at all if their ideas are contradicted by what Keynes said or > not; they're not interested in the scholastic hermeneutics of reading > texts (especially those without abundant math). That is, they would > simply deem your criticism as totally irrelevant, Tom. Rather, they > use the label "Keynesian" only because no-one can think of a better > word and because they want to contrast themselves to the alternatives > (in mainstream macro, new Classicals). > > In some ways, those who cling to a label named after a Famous Person > (such as "Keynesian") without caring about what the fellow actually > said are simply the mirror-image of those who spend much of their of > time worrying about what he "really" said. The former are > insufficiently curious on the origins of the ideas they allegedly > endorse, since they spend all their time on currently-popular theories > and/or practical issues of policy. The latter are insufficiently > curious about currently-popular theories and practical issues of > policy, since they put too much importance on the words of Famous > People. > > It seems to me that we can learn from Famous People, from > currently-popular theories, _and_ practical issues of policy. There is > no need to shut one's eyes to any of the available information or to > get hung up on labels and whether or not someone is a "true" disciple > of some Famous Person. > > -- > 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
