Re: Why economists do not care about high rates of unemployment w

[Steve.Keen@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Paul,
I agree with you re the "from macro to micro" approach: my enthusiasm
related to the individual espousing it, rather thahn the methodology--
which I agree allows an infinity of feasible constraints on an
underlying (micro) methodology which I still see as flawed.

I also think that we can retain the concept of self-interest in
economics (though reent advances in evolutionary analyses of economics
suggest it needs to be temepered with a concept of co-operation--see
for example +"Better than the Best: The power of cooperation" in
L Nadel & D Stein _Lectures in Complex Systems_ (1992)) without
the Walrasian analysis of utility-maximisation. In fasct, to return
slightly to the pedagogy issue which our discussions have covered,
I think a lot of pedagogic damage is done to an understanding o  of
macro by this particular micro construct; and at a methodological
level, I have a nnumber of reasons for rejecting the analysis,
some based on my own approach to Marx, other based on mathematical
concepts of continuity.

As for any faith in conversions by neo-cs, remember my earlier
"Jehovah's Witnesses" comment! I'm not going to bust any boilers
attempting reverse conversions, and if any happen, I prefer to
perceive them as mic miracles than as the results of intellectual
discourse!

Cheers,
Steve Keen