Don Ross - Philosophy of Economics

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Philosophy of Economics

Don Ross

University of Cape Town, South Africa Georgia State University, United States

Don Ross 2014

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First published 2014 by
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This book is dedicated to my wife, Dr Nelleke Bak. A happy life partnership produces a unique economic effect, pervasive endogeneity of utility. In other words: Nellekes presence and support makes everything I like better than it would otherwise be.

Contents

List of Figures

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book is an opinionated tour through what I consider to be the most important issues in the philosophy of economics. It asks: What is economics fundamentally about? It appears to be about aspects of behavior and social organization. But then how and why does it differ from other sciences in particular, psychology and sociology that study these topics?

In calling the book opinionated I refer to the fact that although I try to be fair and accurate in stating the views of others whom I criticize, I have not tried to represent or survey all or even most of the leading positions in the literature. This is therefore not an even-handed survey of the philosophy of economics. It states my philosophy of economics.

explains the distinctive philosophical ground on which I stand, and contrasts it with some alternative philosophical attitudes. So I will not outline or defend that in this preface. And throughout the book I make clear whenever I align myself with one side of a currently live controversy among economists.

However, a prospective reader looking quickly at the book to determine whether she is likely to find opinions sympathetic or contrary to her own might appreciate some simple slogan statements. My general philosophical stance is that of a naturalistic philosopher of science. It is the mission of scientific institutions to strive to provide a complete objective account of the universe at all scales of description. This ambition can never be realized, but that is only because scientists will never be able to make every possible observation or take every possible measurement not because there is a rival path to knowledge, such as religion or intuitive insight, that performs better in some domains of inquiry. Economics is part of science, though economists, like most other scientists, often engage in activity other than seeking objective knowledge. In particular, they are often preoccupied with offering practical and policy advice that should be crucially based on such objective knowledge as they have obtained. As for grand economic doctrine, my views are in the tradition usually called mainstream. That label mainly just conveys a set of negatives: I am not a Marxist, nor an Austrian, nor a critical realist. But I think that all of the leading mainstream economists, including Smith, Walras, Marshall, Keynes, Hayek, Frisch, Tinbergen, Schumpeter, Samuelson, Arrow, Schelling, Friedman, and Stiglitz, are leading because they have contributed lasting and important insights, notwithstanding their sharp disagreements with one another on many questions.