“On the use and misuse of theories and models in economics”

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Omahkohkiaaiipooyii

“Is there anything worth keeping in standard microeconomics?”

April 14, 2015

from Edward Fullbrook

For me three economists stand out historically as having been the most effective at building resistance to the dominance of scientism in economics.  Keynes of course is one, and the other two are Bernard Guerrien and Tony Lawson, Guerrien because he was the intellectual and moral force behind Autisme Economie which, among other things, gave rise to the RWER; and Lawson because his papers, books and seminars have inspired, joined and intellectually fortified thousands.

It is notable that all three of these economists were or were on their way to becoming professional mathematicians before switching to economics.  When still in his twenties, Keynes’ mathematical genius was already publicly celebrated, most notably by Whitehead and Russell, and he had already published what was to become for his first discipline a classic work.  Guerrien’s first PhD was in mathematics, and Lawson was doing a PhD in mathematics at Cambridge when its economics department lured him over in an attempt to boost its mathematical competence.

The significance for me of Keynes, Guerrien and Lawson being mathematicians first and economists second is that it meant that they were not even for an hour taken in or intimidated by the aggressive scientism of neoclassical economists, and this has enabled them to write analytically about the dominant scientism with a quiet straightforwardness that is beyond the reach of most of us.
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Posted in Academic Left, Comparative Systems and Constitutions, Contradictions of U.S. Imperium, EPISTEMOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD, HOW TO LIE WITH STATISTICS, ideological classrooms, Neoclassical and Neo-liberal Economics, petit-bourgeois freedoms, Real World Economics, rise and fall of empires | Leave a comment

Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal Cass Sunstein wants the government to “cognitively infiltrate” anti-government groups

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Omahkohkiaaiipooyii

Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal
Cass Sunstein wants the government to “cognitively infiltrate” anti-government groups
GLENN GREENWALD Follow
http://www.salon.com/2010/01/15/sunstein_2/

TOPICS: CASS SUNSTEIN, WASHINGTON, D.C., POLITICS NEWS

Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal
(updated below – Update II – Update III – Update IV)

Cass Sunstein has long been one of Barack Obama’s closest confidants. Often mentioned as a likely Obama nominee to the Supreme Court, Sunstein is currently Obama’s head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs where, among other things, he is responsible for “overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs.” In 2008, while at Harvard Law School, Sunstein co-wrote a truly pernicious paper proposing that the U.S. Government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-”independent” advocates to “cognitively infiltrate” online groups and websites — as well as other activist groups — which advocate views that Sunstein deems “false conspiracy theories” about the Government. This would be designed to increase citizens’ faith in government officials and undermine the credibility of conspiracists. The paper’s abstract can be read, and the full paper downloaded, here. conspiracy theories 387

Sunstein advocates that the Government’s stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into “chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups.” He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called “independent” credible voices to bolster the Government’s messaging (on the ground that those who don’t believe government sources will be more inclined to listen to those who appear independent while secretly acting on behalf of the Government). This program would target those advocating false “conspiracy theories,” which they define to mean: “an attempt to explain an event or practice by reference to the machinations of powerful people, who have also managed to conceal their role.” Sunstein’s 2008 paper was flagged by this blogger, and then amplified in an excellent report by Raw Story‘s Daniel Tencer.
There’s no evidence that the Obama administration has actually implemented a program exactly of the type advocated by Sunstein, though in light of this paper and the fact that Sunstein’s position would include exactly such policies, that question certainly ought to be asked. Regardless, Sunstein’s closeness to the President, as well as the highly influential position he occupies, merits an examination of the mentality behind what he wrote. This isn’t an instance where some government official wrote a bizarre paper in college 30 years ago about matters unrelated to his official powers; this was written 18 months ago, at a time when the ascendancy of Sunstein’s close friend to the Presidency looked likely, in exactly the area he now oversees. Additionally, the government-controlled messaging that Sunstein desires has been a prominent feature of U.S. Government actions over the last decade, including in some recently revealed practices of the current administration, and the mindset in which it is grounded explains a great deal about our political class. All of that makes Sunstein’s paper worth examining in greater detail.

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Posted in "Tip of the Spear", Chickenhawk Nation, Comparative Systems and Constitutions, Contradictions of U.S. Imperium, corrupt elites, EPISTEMOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD, FALSE FLAG OPS, HOW TO LIE WITH STATISTICS, ideological classrooms, MSM MANIPULATION, non-Official Government Leaking for PR, Panopticon Effect, Proto-Fascism, REAL HISTORY UNCOVERED, Revisionist History, rise and fall of empires, TERRORISM, VETERANS AND RESISTANCE, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WARS, WHISTLE-BLOWERS | Leave a comment