Economics Questions

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

ToxicAssets — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:31:58 GMT

Aristophanes:
It is not that economic professors are evil. it is that they are brainwashed. You seem to mix the two as if they are the same.

I don't think the metaphysical distinction between a natural born villain and a brainwashed minion is very important here.

Aristophanes:
It can if you go and try to compare the theories. I did this. When I started college I read the Austrian economists alongside the textbooks from class. You can see that the difference is that neoclassical economists don't really have a capital theory. Ask them where credit comes from...Austrians can tell you where and explain the implications of it. Neoclassicals cannot. They start with the central bank as a given.

I really think that the Austrians emphasis on the time structure of capital is relevant and is a difficult feature to incorporate in a macroeconomic model, and in most of them it has been heavily simplified or neglected. But that doesn't mean neoclassical economists do not understand these aspects or cannot explain capital and credit, it means that the models they start from do not incorporate all elements from the start.

When it comes to model certain forms of capital there are good neoclassical work that captures these time features with statistics and quantitative techniques. For example, you have Garry Becker's theory of human capital and long term impact of skills and education.

As for the central bank, you have to start somewhere, and central banking is the reality of most people.

But in advanced courses in banking or in history of economics courses, the mainstream economists do get some exposition to free banking systems and the gold standard, and some even make their careers studying and defending these systems.

Aristophanes:
I was told that 85% of economics graduates get an internship at a FED bank (not sure if that is total or just my Univ. - it wouldn't surprise me either way). So, the brainwashing is pretty deep. having said that, I wouldn't trust SD (on somethings) anymore than I'd trust the average democratic voter.

Well, your university seems to have a streamlined academic link with some Fed unity, which is not the reality for all of them.

In any case, an internship at a Fed unity seems like an awesome opportunity to get first hand experience and learn a lot about monetary policy and the inner plumbing of banking if you don't fear the alleged brainwashing sessions, their subliminal statist mantras being played in the background and the fluoride in the water supply. In any case, you can perhaps order online a tinfoil hat covered with hair and find a way to smuggle it in, protecting yourself against their eletromagnetic mindbending fields.

However it is kinda weird to think that bureaucrats are incompetent in all fields but are masters of brainwashing.

Thomas Sowell often says that the most relevant experience in changing his views from marxism to libertarian conservatism came not from lectures by Milton Friedman but during his time working for the Federal Government.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Aristophanes — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:53:03 GMT

duuhh, i red a book writed by someperson i not agree with. derr, just pee peed on chair in I am. Smiling Dave, can u hewp muhee standunder mmm Hayek's criticism of the analytic methodology of scientific inquiry? I get not anything cept book that made brain mush...

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Neodoxy — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:35:42 GMT

Shut up, mush-for-brains

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Aristophanes — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:07:19 GMT

What a bitch response. it's not as if you really refuted the point underlying my comment.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Neodoxy — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:52:51 GMT

Lol

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Smiling Dave — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:49:23 GMT

What you are saying is that any exposure to mainstream economics turns a person's mind to mush...

Straw man, my son. You left out the key word, "may". Belongs right before the word "turns".

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

HabbaBabba — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 04:53:15 GMT

Love it. The hipsters just got out hipstered.

Mainstream econ? Too mainstream...

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Neodoxy — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 01:43:32 GMT

"What you are saying is that any exposure to mainstream economics turns a person's mind to mush is just as cult-like as you present the contra to be. Only you and people just like you can possibly be without brainwashing...you are a weird motherfucker."

Quoted for absolute truth. I don't know how anyone could take that point of view seriously. It's pretty much Marxist in how closed minded and simplistic it is

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Aristophanes — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 01:26:09 GMT

Of course, if you have taken mainstream econ, your mind may be mush already.

What you are saying is that any exposure to mainstream economics turns a person's mind to mush is just as cult-like as you present the contra to be. Only you and people just like you can possibly be without brainwashing...you are a weird motherfucker.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Smiling Dave — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 00:20:22 GMT

I wouldn't trust SD (on somethings) anymore than I'd trust the average democratic voter.

Ha! Are you implying that I am a democratic voter? Low blow.

I'm not asking anyone to trust me about anything. I present links to the facts, and lay out my reasoning from first principles in theoretical issues.

I did say that I have noticed people forget how to think once they take a few mainstream econ courses. But you need not trust me. Go out and observe. Of course, if you have taken mainstream econ, your mind may be mush already. So go out and find an untainted mind and have him observe for you.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Smiling Dave — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 23:53:41 GMT

Since whoever get exposed to mainstream economics is supposedly brainwashed against the austrian school, this sort of accusation of course can never be verified.

I didn't say it's a conspiracy, though it may be. I just said it happens. For example, let us agree for the moment that eating fast food makes one obese. Are we saying there is a conpiracy about to make everyone obese? No. Just that it happens. If you study mainstream econ, you are endangering your thinking abilities. May or may not be a conspiracy.

In any case, if it is a conspiracy, it can be verified just any fanatical irrational cult can be exposed [Scientology etc.], by those who were not brainwashed by the cult.

Yep, Ulysses, my bad.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

Aristophanes — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:43:04 GMT

@TA

It is not that economic professors are evil. it is that they are brainwashed. You seem to mix the two as if they are the same.

Since whoever get exposed to mainstream economics is supposedly brainwashed against the austrian school, this sort of accusation of course can never be verified.

It can if you go and try to compare the theories. I did this. When I started college I read the Austrian economists alongside the textbooks from class. You can see that the difference is that neoclassical economists don't really have a capital theory. Ask them where credit comes from...Austrians can tell you where and explain the implications of it. Neoclassicals cannot. They start with the central bank as a given.

I was told that 85% of economics graduates get an internship at a FED bank (not sure if that is total or just my Univ. - it wouldn't surprise me either way). So, the brainwashing is pretty deep. having said that, I wouldn't trust SD (on somethings) anymore than I'd trust the average democratic voter.

By the way, Homer was just the poet, the character in the Odysseia was Ulysses (Odysseus). Well, maybe you're talking about the Simpsons…

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

ToxicAssets — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:21:53 GMT

Smiling Dave:

I've taken zero economics courses, and I am gratefull that I didn't. I see every day the way they twist the thinking of people who take them. I used to think maybe these people are dummies to begin with. But then I saw cases of people taking the courses, and their minds turning to silly putty before my very eyes. You have been warned. Like Homer when he came near the Sirens, plug up your ears in them courses.

The thing with conspiracy theories is that they always display some feature specifically conceived in order to pre-emptively disable any subsequent attempt to disprove it.

Take for instance the conspiracy theory that mainstream economics professors are evil minded and they want to inoculate innocent students with their vicious theories of state worshiping.

Since whoever get exposed to mainstream economics is supposedly brainwashed against the austrian school, this sort of accusation of course can never be verified.

I'm not saying that it's false because it's a "conspiracy theory", I'm not one of these guys that discard them right away. But it's important to not drink the kool-aid so eagerly.

By the way, Homer was just the poet, the character in the Odysseia was Ulysses (Odysseus). Well, maybe you're talking about the Simpsons…

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

DanielMuff — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:06:11 GMT

Intro micro, intro macro, and a bunch of business courses, if those count.

Re: What college econ courses have you taken?

MarcosP — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:28:08 GMT

Intro to Micro

Intro to Macro

Interm Micro

Interm Macro

Interm Macro II (400 level)

Econometrics

Industrial Organization

Money and Banking

All of these classes were under keynesian liberal professors. I definitely utilized austrian material to supplement the classes. All were fairly easy A's. I guess its somewhat beneficial to learn and understand the Keynesian/neoKeynesian/monetarist framework however much we disagree with it.

Luckily, I'll be transferring to a college with some more free market professors for the fall.