A bunch of us were sitting around, trying to figure out what is The Economist’s Vice. Here was one good candidate:
The Economist’s Vice: “To think that Wealth Maximization is a good proxy for Utility Maximization”
I nominated the following:
The Economist’s Vice: “To think that it is scientific to talk of “satisfying preferences,” and paternalistic or mystical to talk about other normative values.”
We then turned to The Philosopher’s Vice. I suggested the following:
The Philosopher’s Vice: “To think that The Economist’s Vice(s) open the door for rampant egalitarianism and national health insurance”
One of us suggested The Experimental Economist’s Vice:
The Experimental Economist’s Vice: “To think that students are like other people”
Another group member suggested The Lawyer’s Vice:
The Lawyer’s Vice: “To think that words alone can settle an argument” [just for the record I did not suggest or endorse this one!]
Blogger’s vice anyone? How about this?
The Blogger’s Vice: “To think that packaging a link with an expression of moral outrage is a worthwhile exercise.”
Addendum: John Nye suggests the following:
The real (modern) economist’s vice: To think that formal (mathematical) rigor is equivalent to scientific (substantive) rigor.
Comments are closed.