What’s Wrong with Economics? PDF
Preview What’s Wrong with Economics?
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 What's Wrong with Economics? 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Benjamin Ward 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 What's Wrong with Economics? 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978-1-349-01808-6 ISBN 978-1-349-01806-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-01806-2 © Basic Books, Inc., 1972 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1972 978-0-333-14613-2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published in the United States 1972 First published in the United Kingdom 1972 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in New York Toronto Dublin Melbourne Johannesburg and Madras SBN 333 14613 1 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Acknowledgments No doubt everyone named on this page disagrees with at least one of the major arguments of this book. Neverthe less, each of them has had a significant effect on the final product, and many of them have diverted me from sub stantial error. The comments of Jean Benard, Martin Bron fenbrenner, Gregory Grossman, Ernest Nadel, Thomas Rothenberg, and Hal Varian on an earlier draft, and dis cussions with these people as well as with Douglas Dowd, Sherman Krupp, Ganshyam Mehta, Hanna Pitkin, Roy Radner, Richard Roehl, Ronald Schwartz, Donald Witt man, Bernard Saffran, Sidney Winter, and some discus sants of a lecture given at the University of California, Davis, three years ago, are remembered with special grati tude. Had Robert Dorfman and M. M. Knight not been my teachers at Berkeley this book would probably have not been written, for they forced their students to focus on fundamentals. Members of a seminar held last winter Acknowledgments vi quarter at Berkeley contributed substantially to the clari fication of ideas. Eileen Grampp, Selma Gluck, and Phyllis Dexter provided most competent administrative and cleri cal assistance. Thanks again. 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Contents Part Neoclassical Economics Economics as a Science 3 Kuhn's Tests Economics as a Social System 2 The Practice of Economics 15 Puzzles Stylized Facts Issues The Framework Power Conclusion 3 A Science in Crisis? 33 The Keynesian Revolution Another Revolution? Contents viii Generations and Events Permanent Revolution Laws as Variables Part II Marxism 4 Marxist Economics as a Science 57 Puzzles Framework Issues The Invisible College and Power 5 Twentieth-Century Marxism 71 From Creativity to Stagnation Renaissance? Marxism in Crisis? 6 What's Wrong with Economics I 89 Part Ill Social Man 7 Conversions not Decisions 95 Conversions Social Aspects of Attitude-Change 8 Language and Change 109 Whatever Became of Machine Translation? Contents ix Language and the Philosophy of Science Existential Man and Social Man 9 Social Man and Economics 119 Language and Information Changing Preferences Identities The Great Surplus Game, or Adding N-Ach to Galbraith Conclusion Part IV The Art of Persuasion 10 Verification in Economics 143 Input Output A Parable Comments 11 The Positivist Dream 159 Induction Co !ligation Walras, Heisenberg, and Velikovsky Verification by Theory 12 Storytelling 179 Some Properties of Storytelling On Verifying a Story Contents x Part V Values and Deeds 13 Values in Economics 193 Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility 14 Five Ways of Looking at "Ought" 207 "Ought" from "Is" Means and Ends Rule Utilitarianism Marxism Situation Ethics Conclusion 15 Law as a Moral Science 223 Law as a Kuhnian Science The Problem of Legal Science Verification in Law Law and Economics 16 What's Wrong with Economics II 237 Notes 247 Index 269
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