how i became a keynesian

by MaxEntropy_Man Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:37 pm

http://www.tnr.com/article/how-i-became-keynesian?page=0,0

i've been reading a bit lately (mostly on the internet) about the divisions between economic thinkers of the times. i didn't realize how serious and sometimes ugly the divisions are. so much so that there are schools that won't even employ economists of one shade of thinking or the other. this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments. but the article i posted above seems to be from a refreshingly open-minded person.

by Guest Sat Nov 05, 2011 7:15 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.tnr.com/article/how-i-became-keynesian?page=0,0

i've been reading a bit lately (mostly on the internet) about the divisions between economic thinkers of the times. i didn't realize how serious and sometimes ugly the divisions are. so much so that there are schools that won't even employ economists of one shade of thinking or the other. this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments. but the article i posted above seems to be from a refreshingly open-minded person.

my knowledge of keynes is very scratchy but i found him impressive and worth reading further in some detail when i read this about him in the article at the link you gave:

An eclectic approach to economic behavior came naturally to Keynes,
because he was not an academic economist in the modern sense. He had no
degree in economics, and wrote extensively in other fields (such as
probability theory--on which he wrote a treatise that does not mention
economics). He combined a fellowship at Cambridge with extensive
government service as an adviser and high-level civil servant, and was
an active

speculator, polemicist, and journalist. He lived in the company of writers and was an ardent balletomane.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:30 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc&feature=player_embedded

very LOL inducing.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Nov 06, 2011 1:51 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.tnr.com/article/how-i-became-keynesian?page=0,0

i've been reading a bit lately (mostly on the internet) about the divisions between economic thinkers of the times. i didn't realize how serious and sometimes ugly the divisions are. so much so that there are schools that won't even employ economists of one shade of thinking or the other. this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments. but the article i posted above seems to be from a refreshingly open-minded person.

I did not read the link:

None of the economic theory can predict or direct the economy with 10% accuracy.

bcz none of the theories take into account the pscyhological and political factors involved in today's world economy.

by SomeProfile Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:06 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments.

The reason for this is that Economics is not a precise and prove-able science like Physics. Given this fact and the utterly dismal track record of economics in predicting/explaining anything in the real world, the arrogance of many economists is astounding.

by Jeremiah Mburuburu Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:18 am

SomeProfile wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments.
The reason for this is that Economics is not a precise and prove-able science like Physics. Given this fact and the utterly dismal track record of economics in predicting/explaining anything in the real world, the arrogance of many economists is astounding.

i disagree that there's a total shutting down of debate among economists.

here's an article from The Economist of august 6, 2009, entitled "in defence of the dismal science," by robert lucas of the university of chicago, which you and max may find interesting:

http://www.economist.com/node/14165405?story_id=14165405

lucas is the 1995 nobel laureate in economics. more on him:

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1995/press.html

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:25 am

thanks for the economist article. i'll definitely read through it. i've encountered articles about lucas in my wanderings from mankiw's blog in the last few days (haven't come across the article you linked though).

i didn't really mean "shutting down debate". i know that's what i said, but what i meant was the kind of caricaturing and shouting matches that seem to go on in blogs. that's not how physical scientists conduct debate; at least most of the time.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:18 pm

all i can say it seems to be far from what we can credibly call science. using a lot math is insufficient for something to be called science. at best macro seems to be an aspirational science.

by Guest Sun Nov 06, 2011 1:45 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc&feature=player_embedded

very LOL inducing.

enjoyed watching this. thanks for the link.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:18 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:thanks for the economist article. i'll definitely read through it. i've encountered articles about lucas in my wanderings from mankiw's blog in the last few days (haven't come across the article you linked though).

i didn't really mean "shutting down debate". i know that's what i said, but what i meant was the kind of caricaturing and shouting matches that seem to go on in blogs. that's not how physical scientists conduct debate; at least most of the time.

this is what i meant.

by harharmahadev Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:46 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.tnr.com/article/how-i-became-keynesian?page=0,0

i've been reading a bit lately (mostly on the internet) about the divisions between economic thinkers of the times. i didn't realize how serious and sometimes ugly the divisions are. so much so that there are schools that won't even employ economists of one shade of thinking or the other. this kind of approach of totally shutting down debate, sometimes even by caricaturing is quite unknown in the physical sciences departments. but the article i posted above seems to be from a refreshingly open-minded person.

I haven't read the attached article yet, but I am a follower of the Austrian School of economic principles...small government, lower taxes, pro-capitalism, etc etc.

One could argue that the current economic turmoil is a result of keynesian economic thought.

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