Re: Mirowski and critiques

[Jim Devine <JNDF%LMUACAD.BITNET@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Whatever the "etiology of Walras' ideas" (to quote Herb Gintis),
you've got to admit that most economists suffer from Physics envy.
We'd love the study of human beings to be as "hard" as Physics,
no? We'd love economics to be the study of nature, so that
"nature makes no leaps" (Marshall) would be relevant to our
lives (if it was ever relevant to nature), so we can talk
about "natural prices" (Smith), the "natural rate of growth"
(Harrod), the natural interest rate (Wicksell), the natural
rate of unemployment (Phelps and Friedman), and the natural
rate of suicide (Becker :-) ).

Whatever the validity of Mirowsky's specific points, I think
his books help us escape from Physics envy and the idea that
economics could ever be a "natural" science.  That's a good
idea, IMHO.

sincerely,

Jim Devine
jndf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles, CA 90045-2699 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950