3 ms·
economists carried out bloodless coups of central banks around the globe, co-opting the essentially arbitrary and political matter of setting interest rate
by donohoe 2y ago
economists carried out bloodless coups of central banks
around the globe, co-opting the essentially arbitrary
and political matter of setting interest rates
for themselves.
Interest rates not set by politicians? I think thats been a societal good - though I worry that the independence of the Fed could be undermined by the next president depending on how things go.
[...] bolstered economics as a tool for governing
technocratically and shutting down people who disagree
with the elite consensus
The dawn of a new conspiracy theory.
Economics is not a science
Correct. Lets qualify that - it is a social science. This is a stated thing and not hidden. No one claims its a science on the level of physics or chemistry.
economics also lacks the basic accountability mechanism that real sciences have
In that sense, yes - its a social science. It is not the same. I defer to others on how that is good/bad but the comparison is off.
I don't think the author knows what economics really is (which is shocking "Ben is in his second year of UChicago’s JD-MBA"), but hey, he made the front page on HN.
- opo 2y ago>(which is shocking "Ben is in his second year of UChicago’s JD-MBA"), Honestly it wouldn't have surprised me if it said he was in his second year of high school. Can someone who upvoted this, explain why they upvoted this submission?
- forgetfreeman 2y agoCertainly. After 45 years of observation of economists tanking national/regional/global economies, cheerlead neoliberal bullshit that contravenes the most basic principles outlined in an econ 101 textbook, and in general standing behind policy that creates shit outcomes for ~ 98% of the nation, the skepticism starts to set in in earnest. The lack of empiricism alone in the social sciences should be sufficient to dismiss them out of hand. The fact that one has been promoted to the notional captain's chair of the world economy beggars belief. And on a personal note I get off on watching folks get kicked in the worldview, so dude's screed is guaranteed to rattle all the right cages.