Timothy Taylor — The Need for Generalists

One of the many political cliches that makes me die a little bit inside is when someone claims that all we need to address a certain problem (health care, poverty, transportation, the Middle East, whatever) is to bring together a group of experts who will provide the common-sense solution that we have all been ignoring. But while bringing together a group of specialist experts can provide a great deal of information and insight, they are often not especially good at melding their specific insights into a general policy.

Why every policy design problem of any significant size needs the participation of a generalist. Who are the generalists? Some are philosophers, in that philosophy property conceived studies the whole in terms of systems and conceptual modeling. Others are general systems theorists and systems thinkers. Lawyers are also generalists in institutional design. These are the disciplines that currently produced generalists. 

Many generalists are also specialists in a particular field. Kenneth Boulding, a co-founder of General systems Theory was an economist. Another co-founder Ludwig von Bertalanffy, who conceived the concept, was a biologist. 

In addition, most policy issues concern values that fall outside the expertise of most specialists. Policy solutions must not only "work" but also be viable. To often, viability is not a concern in the articulation of the policy design problem.

Conversable Economist
The Need for Generalists
Timothy Taylor | Managing editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, based at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota