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from the how-bad-can-something-called-the-dismal-science-be? dept.
An Anonymous Coward writes:
Economics affects us all, so why do so many remain ignorant of the fundamentals? Murray Rothbard said: "[I]t is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance."
Personally I'm tired of having to defend economics against both the mainstream advocates (with their broken models) and their critics (who tar economics with one brush). I take the time to educate myself and speak out, based on reason, not angry ignorance, and not on smugness, numerology, and appeals to the authority Lord Keynes.
There is a deep-seated tendency for people to misapply physical science techniques to the social sciences. This has resulted in mainstream economics degenerating into a modern day numerology. However there are intellectually sound schools of economics that do not attempt to treat human actions like Newtonian atoms.
This article from The Mises Institute discusses how and why mainstream economics has lost its way.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Tuesday December 20 2016, @05:04AM
Yeah, right, oh illiterate Buzzard! When it comes to reading, quantity is quality! There is never too much reading! Even reading stuff that is totally wrong, like propaganda from the von Misers Institute and the Online Liberty Library [libertyfund.org] (actually, they have some good stuff, for free, in total contradistinction to their ideology!). If you read enough, the crazy starts to show itself. Surely you know people who only read one book, whether it is τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια or "Atlas Shrugged", and these people cannot tell the crazy, since they have not read enough. So I should not be surprised if my submission on the attempt to censor liberal college professors does not make the light of Soylent Day, again?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday December 20 2016, @02:26PM
Reading foolishness does nothing to advance either your own mind or humanity. You can hear idiocy all day long simply by not plugging your ears and save yourself the price of a book. Spend your time reading something intelligent instead and you've bettered both yourself and the sum total of human cognitive ability.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.