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"Although economics has flaws [..]" That would be the understatement of the century. Economics theory decide how to organize society resources, so, it's a very

"Although economics has flaws [..]" That would be the understatement of the century. Economics theory decide how to organize society resources, so, it's a very loaded subject with a lot of interests trying to decide what is "reality". Economics use complicated maths to justify ideologically determined policy. I propose you a simple exercise. Go to any mainstream economic textbook and read about the fractional reserve system creation of money, that it's supposedly how the system works. Then go and read what the people that are really in charge say about how money is created (pdf from the Bank of England): http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/2014/qb14q1prereleasemoneycreation.pdf http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarte... If the textbooks in economics are wrong about a basic thing like that, maybe we should start to think carefully about the subject.

gozur88 10y ago
>That would be the understatement of the century. Indeed. If it weren't for nutritionists, economists would win the prize for having the discipline most disconnected from reality.
- jschwartzi 10y ago
  If you read a basic 100-level nutrition textbook, I guarantee you that you'll recant your statement. The problem isn't that the disciplines are disconnected from reality, but that people are treating bleeding-edge research as if it's scientific fact, rather than taking it all with a grain of salt as you would do in another scientific discipline.
  - gozur88 10y ago
    What makes you think I haven't read such a textbook? The problem is the insights in economics are either obvious or dubious, save Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage. Which, I should add, doesn't seem to hold up in practice either.
dredmorbius 10y ago
The creation of money is actually among the more sensible elements of economics, though fractional reserve lending may not be the best route to doing that (I'm not sure that it is or isn't, though I'm pretty certain it's not the bugbear people claim it is). I'd look at economic definitions of cost, value, and price, of ignoring the reality of thermodynamics, and of much of the theology (Thorstein Veblen uses the term "mythology") surrounding supposedly rationally-acting "homo economicus", market failures, and the role of information, amongst many others. Money is first and principally a mechanism for exchange, and gumming up that role leads to problems. Fractional-reserve and central banking greatly assists in this, and is by and large hugely useful.

gozur88 10y ago

>That would be the understatement of the century. Indeed. If it weren't for nutritionists, economists would win the prize for having the discipline most disconnected from reality.

jschwartzi 10y ago
If you read a basic 100-level nutrition textbook, I guarantee you that you'll recant your statement. The problem isn't that the disciplines are disconnected from reality, but that people are treating bleeding-edge research as if it's scientific fact, rather than taking it all with a grain of salt as you would do in another scientific discipline.
- gozur88 10y ago
  What makes you think I haven't read such a textbook? The problem is the insights in economics are either obvious or dubious, save Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage. Which, I should add, doesn't seem to hold up in practice either.

dredmorbius 10y ago

The creation of money is actually among the more sensible elements of economics, though fractional reserve lending may not be the best route to doing that (I'm not sure that it is or isn't, though I'm pretty certain it's not the bugbear people claim it is). I'd look at economic definitions of cost, value, and price, of ignoring the reality of thermodynamics, and of much of the theology (Thorstein Veblen uses the term "mythology") surrounding supposedly rationally-acting "homo economicus", market failures, and the role of information, amongst many others. Money is first and principally a mechanism for exchange, and gumming up that role leads to problems. Fractional-reserve and central banking greatly assists in this, and is by and large hugely useful.