Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id DAA08775 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 18 Dec 2000 03:12:27 GMT Message-Id: <200012180312.DAA08775@alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk> Errors-To: b.edmonds@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: camrec@mmu.ac.uk Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk To: CAMREC list members <camrec@mmu.ac.uk> From: the Campaign for Real Economics <camrec@mmu.ac.uk> Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 21:03:30 -0600 Subject: Re: CAMREC: Egalitarianism in a world of power-law distributions
CHR,
At 08:28 AM 12/17/00 -0800, you wrote:
> >He has
> > identified several problems and advocates a reform
> > program. The reform
> > program is largely based on assumptions about the
> > value of egalitarianism.
>
>Could you explain that?
Adam Smith was a good Whig. As all good Whigs, he favored meritocracy over
aristocracy and democracy over absolutism. The British Empire of 1776 had
a variety of problems, but one can argue that Smith's Whig loyalty
(assumptions) made is conclusions predictable. Smith rises above the
average Whig in terms of rhetorical skills and clarity of vision, but it is
still a Whig argument.
> > Though economist like to think of themselves as
> > something like 'engineers'
> > trying to keep the 'train' of state on track, their
> > energy comes from the
> > reform agenda, not the science (if there is any).
>
>Does it? Seems like I have never been educated to be a
>real economist (bad schooling?)or maybe I ditched some
>of the important things in favour of some
>non-economist topics, or it's just a cultural
>difference thing: Anglosaxon vs. German (continental?)
>economics.
This is from my 1980 intro to economics (Basic Economics by Dolan):
"When economists limit their attention to statements that are pure
scientific predictions, they are said to be practicing positive
economics. All sound analysis of economic policy must begin with positive
economics' (pg 14)
If Dolan doesn't think he is educating engineers to keep the 'economy' (as
in train-of-state) on-track, I don't know what he is driving at.
Do think there are purely scientific economic predictions?
Ciao
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