Comments by "Maria" (@maria8809ttt) on "Economists should learn to think" video.
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This has been said by heterodox economists for years. Mainstream economic models erroneously assume to be governed by stable causal mechanisms. That is because the models under the Capitalist Neoliberal Doctrine rely on the assumptions about human behaviour that belies the knowledge adduced by social scientists that actually study such behaviour (such as psychologists, sociologists, ect. William Buiter described DSGE models as useless 'self-referential, inward looking destructions at best' which 'exclude everything relevant to the pursuit of financial stability' The models are blind to the very possibility of catastrophic failures in a market economy and that their policy prescriptions are based on an unjustified belief in the efficiency of markets, had created the circumstances that would lead to crisis.
Paul Krugman 'As the worst economic crisis in 80 years was building, most economists were waxing lyrical in their own world of self aggrandisement and self congratulation.' William Buiter, 'The Unfortunate Uselessness of Most "State of the Art" Academic Monetary Economics, VoxEU.org, 6th March 2009.
Paul Krugman,' How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?, New York Times, 2nd September 2009.
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Paraphrasing Keynes, we could thus posit that the power of mainstream ecconomics resides in the fact that it explains much social injustice as the inevitable consequence of the objective constraints faced by policymakers and state apparatus, which obviously attracts to it the support of the dominant social forces (and of policymakers themselves). The fact that the policies arising from modern mainstream economics benefit only the richest-the so called '1per cent' - would appear to validate this hypothesis. In other words, if these theories and policies continue to prove themselves incapable of restoring prosperity it is not only because their fundamental macroeconomic assumptions are not grounded in reality - it is because they were never intended to do so. More troubling, however, is the fact that these myths also hold considerable sway among progressive and radical thinkers and politicians. These myths represent a huge obstacle to the conceptualisation of a radical alternative to neoliberal (or post-neoliberal) capitalism.
Ref: John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, New York : Classic House, 2008, p26.
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The entire edifice of mainstream macroeconomics is built on a sequence of interrelated lies and myths that have no connection to reality, but reinforce the erroneous view that a self-regulating private market with minimal government interference will deliver maximum wealth for all. To address criticism that mainstream ecconomics play around with 'models' that have little correspondence to reality. Mainstream macroeconomics has proven to be a disastrous failure. The financhel crisis led to rather extreme policy responses from governments and central banks. They have maintained their hegemony in several ways. Economic students are forced to use textbooks that give false accounts of how the financial sector works, they are brainwashed with mythical accounts about the impact of the government on private markets, and above all, they are taught that if markets are left to their own devices, the outcomes will be superior to those that involve regulation or government oversize. They also control hiring processes in our universities, access to the 'high status' publication outlets and major research funding bodies, and importantly, create networks that allow for transition between the academy, business and government. These networks are a pervasive and powerful force for discipline. Advantages (publications, research, grants, promotions, consulting, opportunities, influence, etc) accrue to those who conform to the rules. How would you overcome this framework?
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