The illusion of economic theory (Hudson on ancient debt)
June 25th, 2018
Although the left tends to lump together all economists as a category, the classical economists such as adam smith were quite different from the current crop of neo-classical economists with their complex mathematical models.
Those models using complex calculus are in essence fraudulent and demonstrate physics envy more than anything else.
It is remarkable that this situation persists without much in the way of critical examination even by those in other areas such as that physics who would be laughed out of profession if they proposed some of the nonsense dressed up in mathematics that has overtaken economics…
One of the most compelling sequences in the Oscar-winning Inside Job, Charles Ferguson’s indictment of Wall Street’s role in the 2008 global financial meltdown, involved not the banker culprits but their supporting cast. These were the Ivy League accomplices. Ferguson mightily skewered these economists for the cover they gave the sub-prime Hamptons dwelling wise guys whose rescue turned out to be a pretext for one of the largest reverse-Robin Hood wealth transfers in history. Though for the foreseeable future they enjoy their tenured posts, control prestigious academic journals and continue to prey on the unformed minds of students, the speculative financial implosion has shaken confidence in the economics academy.
link: Michael Hudson—Bronze Age Redux
Darwiniana 