[lbo-talk] Mathematics and Formalism in Economics

SA s11131978 at gmail.com
Mon Aug 22 00:48:39 PDT 2011


On 8/22/2011 12:41 AM, Mike Beggs wrote:


> I had no idea beforehand that he had a history in technical general
> equilibrium going back to the 1960s, before getting into Marx in the
> 1970s, or that he is considered quite respectable in mainstream
> economics for his work on complexity. He was radicalised by the
> Vietnam War then mesmerised by Capital.

While leafing through the mid-1960's-era volumes of the Ripon Society newsletter at the Library of Congress, I was dumbfounded to see that he was their top economics expert.

The society was the now largely forgotten grouping of moderate Republicans who tried feebly to resist the Goldwaterization of the party after 1964. They were Rockefeller Republicans, in other words, with a social profile tending toward the young, technocratic, well-educated, moderately pro-business, "idealistic yet realistic," etc. Sort of like today's New Democrats but somewhat more liberal and activist in outlook. He had lots of bright ideas about negative income taxes and so on.

I'd *love* to see the PDF of his interview. Thanks!

SA



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