Re: [PEN-L:8373] Re: Re: Re: Thomas Friedman an economist?

["John M. Legge" <jlegge@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I thought that Lipsey and Lancaster had proved that near enough is not good enough: that a single false price may be as disruptive of the benefits of a perfect general equilibrium as a plethora of them.  The economaniacs can't be satisfied with just pushing us towards a perfect world: nothing will satisfy them, and no general benefit will be realised, until the world is perfectly perfect.

Shades of Calvin in Geneva...

JML

----- Original Message -----
From: Ken Hanly <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Multiple recipients of list <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, 27 June 1999 11:54
>Subject: [PEN-L:8373] Re: Re: Re: Thomas Friedman an economist?


> Now that is an interesting theory. If the real world diverges from the
> theory this does not lead
> the theorist to alter the theory but to claim that the world ought to be
> modified to fit what the theory predicts. Must be some sort of moral
> theory. Preachers continually ask that the world
> change so that people behave as they ought instead as as they do. I can
> imagine Newton lecturing the apple if it did not fall according to the
> laws of gravitation. "You better behave you goddamn apple or I'll cut off
> the World Bank loan to the orchard and there won't be any more apples."
>     Cheers, Ken Hanly
>
>
> Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> > Rod Hay wrote:
> >
> > >One can interpret the Arrow-Debreu model as the ultimate undermining
> > >of neoclassical general equilibrium. By showing the conditions that
> > >are required to reach an equilibrium, they demonstrate that it is
> > >extremely unlikely to occur in any actual economy. (The necessity
> > >for perfect and complete futures markets has been pointed out).
> >
> > But most neoclassicals respond to this by saying that the world is
> > close enough to the theory, and that where the real world differs
> > from theory, the real world should be changed to match the dictates
> > of theory. So you've got Shiller seriously talking about futures
> > markets in everything.
> >
> > Doug
>
>