kids v. economists

[Suresh Naidu]

This thread is interesting, partly because I'm one of the kids...being 
heavily into the anti-sweatshop student movement here in Ontario, but also 
because I hopefully will get into one of the three radical Ph.D. economics 
programs I've applied to(UMass at Amherst, UC at Riverside, and the New school. 
find out soon, I guess). But, it is also interesting to note that I'm 
finishing an undergraduate degree in pure mathematics and philosophy, with 
practically no economics courses. I've audited a few senior level economics 
courses, and they were a) really easy(maybe because I was so interested in 
the material, and because of my mathematics background) its just supply 
equals demand in arbitrary dimensions AFAICT, and b) full-on right-wing 
ideology. So I can see why any radical undergrad would think that economics 
is just brainwashing, at least at the undergraduate level. Given the general 
aversion to techie-math stuff often encountered among lefty students, this 
becomes even worse. I'm a firm believer in tearing down the master's house 
with his own tools, so I like using mathematics in  economics...If the 
bourgeois economists like it so much, lets pin them to the wall with it.

A real shame because my own reading on the subject has made me horribly 
interested in the work conducted at the above institutions, and there is so 
much cool stuff waiting to be expanded on. Ideology, class, exploitation, 
all need to be thrown back into the economics debate(Like the stuff John 
Roemer did).

The only people I can engage with on lefty economics are the odd marxist 
political science prof... Even my one Marxist economics prof is fully of the 
belief that the left is politically dead, even if it is intellectually 
interesting...


>From: aaron at rmrc.net (Aaron Pacitti)
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>Subject: Re: kids v. economists
>Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 10:07:28 -0500
>
>I am a student (now taking some time off) from American University's Econ
>PhD program, which I believe is fairly radical.
>
>The thing I have noticed is that most upper-level students in or 
>approaching
>their dissertation stage are interested in working in non-academic 
>settings.
>IMF/WB, etc.  I can't speak for all students, but this appears to be
>somewhat of a trend.  It is difficult to tell if they are 'rational
>maximizers' trying to maximize their salary or just disgruntled with
>radicals in academia.  Some have told me that they think the potential to
>make changes is greater working for the WB than writing articles for 
>obscure
>journals.
>
>The future of the few (and I mean few, myself included) who focus on social
>economics, methodology, history, and other non-technical fields looks
>curious.  In fact, most graduate economics programs don't even have
>history/methodology seminars.  Most radical graduates.  don't go on to 
>teach
>at Harvard.  Its as if we are pseudo-economists because we either take the
>Post-Austistic view (mathematics within reason) or because we just don't do
>technical study after technical study.  And if you don't want to
>differentiate consumption functions...well, you are just plain weird.
>
>What appears to be happening is that the radicals who enter into teaching
>jobs are forming very tight-knit and strong alliances with others in
>simialar predicaments.    I know of a few professors who graduated from
>radical programs and then pick up teaching jobs at the same university.
>Yet, similar to the critics of the Institutionalists, they are attending
>conferences, writing articles, but seem to lack a coherent body of
>thought...aside from the fact that they are unstaisfied with the 
>mainstream.
>None the less, its a start with visible ties to other radicals...including
>those outside of academia.
>
>Perhaps radical economists are trying to build a solid base in which to
>start springing all these great things from.  But I haven't seen much as of
>yet.  That is not to say I am pessimistic.  Just observant.
>
>Aaron
>
>

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