[PEN-L:5256] Re: William Greider article

[shecker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

>In response to my request concerning the professional discipline of
>which William Greider belongs, Mike Meeropol wrote:
>>
>> I don't know about Greider's credentials, but anyone who could write a book
>> like _The Secrets of the Temple_ is an economist!!  In fact, calling him an
>> economist can demystify the thought that one needs "ordination" from some
>> priest-hood to "become" any kind of "ist" ---- I think some principles of
>> econ textbooks like to say that "economics is what economists do..."
>> identifying the various branches of the discipline.  One could turn that
>> around and say anyone who DOES economics is an economist.
>>
>I hope this does not mean that someone will not answer my original
>question which was is Greider an economist (by training), a journalist
>(by training) or both.:-)
>
>Sam Winslow
>winslow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Greider is a journalist.  My recollection of his discussion in Who Will
Tell the People is that he has been a working (and working class)
journalist his whole career and is not formally trained as an economist.
As a noneconomist myself I have to agree with Mike Meeropol that Greider is
tremendously gifted in writing for a lay audience about economics.  Beyond
that, for me Who Will Tell the People is the best book written about the
political mess we're in.  If you still have any illusions about the
national Democratic Party representing the interests of "the people," read
his chapter about them.

Steve Hecker



Steven Hecker
shecker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Labor Education and Research Center
1289 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR  97403-1289
telephone: 503-346-2788
fax: 503-346-2790