Josh Hendrickson weighs in on Piketty.
Notice how his argument assumes methodological individualism based on ontological individualism that ignores that human being are situated in society, culture, and institutions, so that individual action is entirely free of social influence. Which is absurd from the point of view of the life sciences, social sciences, history, and psychology.
I am not picking on Professor Hendrickson here, since he does not put this forward as his own view personally. Rather, he presents it as how economists think about these things.
These economists whom he mentions appear to be without a clue about how life actually works in the real world outside their heads. I remember the day when this was said about philosophers, but now economists have taken it over.
The Everyday Economist
What is Fair?
Josh Hendrickson | Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi
3 comments:
Q: How many economists does it take to replace a light bulb?
A: As many as you can find. The job still does not get done. Why? Because they postulate an ideal light bulb, and wait for it to manifest!
"methodological individualism"
This is just another name for libertarianism...
"Methodological individualism is the view that social phenomena can only be understood by examining how they result from the motivations and actions of individual agents."
Also the Austrian infestation at work here:
"The Austrian School is a school of economic thought that is based on the analysis of the purposeful actions of individuals (see methodological individualism). Wikipedia"
Marx is in to it too:
"Elster reevaluates Marx's ideas from a rational choice perspective, arguing that Marx at his most insightful was in some sense a methodological individualist. Wikipedia
Explore: Jon Elster, Rational choice theory?"
All part of the same psychopathy of libertarianism... its got to go if we are ever going to get anywhere...
rsp,
"Why? Because they postulate an ideal light bulb, and wait for it to manifest!"
By creating the expectation that the light bulb will manifest, the light bulb will manifest on its own. Concrete steps to actually make the light bulb manifest are not required.
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