Re: Public/Private

[Ian Murray <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Forstater, Mathew" <ForstaterM@xxxxxxxx>
To: <PEN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 30, 2003 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: Public/Private


Ian - sorry, I think that part of the quote "and which only an economist
can discuss with any real hope of reaching a successful outcome" to be
fair requires some context. Fraser was speaking of social scientists,
not of all people. So he was criticizing Robbins for trying to push out
of the field of economics questions which were in Fraser's view
important economic issues. Also, Fraser goes on to say how Robbins'
definition of "science" will ultimately exclude other social scientists
and philosophers from asking these important questions as well, if they
want theirs to be a "science." Robbins says that only the "charlatan and
the quack" will ask these questions.

The point here is the narrowing of the object of study of "economics" to
some narrowly defined "economy" that is purportedly autonomous of any
socio-political elements. Politics is "exogenous", etc.

==================

My bad, I reread it and I see Fraser was critiquing Robbins in a double
sense. Did Robbins perhaps suffer authoritarian personality disorder in
any way?


Ian