Re: If an economist writes a political manifesto...

xahrx — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:39:57 GMT

I don't think you can say someone would be discredited by default. Actions over time would determine whether or not the person can separate a posiive analysis of the world and the processes that govern it vs their moral and ethical judgements about how things should be.

If an economist writes a political manifesto...

Prateek Sanjay — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:36:16 GMT

does he discredit himself professionally?

Would it mean that he was reaching for conclusions that he already established?

For example, one apolitical economist had never breathed a word about politics in his discussions, and rather condemned political idealism getting in the way of economic analysis. Yet, five years after writing the above column, this very economist wrote a political manifesto, Conscience of a Liberal, with an entire set of proposals for government programs and issues he wished to see addressed by them.

On one hand, if he was apolitical once, then surely he could be spared for having reached a political perspective from what he may have seen as a path of value-free analysis. On the other hand, it hints at confirmation bias, particularly given that the above book seeks to address inequality, for no other reason than to address inequality. Indeed, some of his former admirers turned against him for that. *

Then we have an economist who used to be a Fabian Socialist, who then recanted his views after seeing that they were economically untenable and impossible. Yet, he would later write a book called Road to Serfdom, and introduced the book with fears that it would discredit him and later indeed did say that he was professionally discredited by the book.

Surely a man who could repudiate his former views after learning some economics could be appreciated as one with the power to have value-free analysis? And yet, if he later adopts another set of views in a new core belief system, he has taken two steps back?

What do you say?

*(ironically, this particular critic happens to be an Objectivist, who criticizes Krugman for leaving his value-free style, and yet he too could easily be called out for reaching his views from perhaps his own confirmation bias)

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Re: If an economist writes a political manifesto...

If an economist writes a political manifesto...