For today’s bullshit story, we have a sociology professor complaining that economics majors – and even those who have just take economics – are bad people.
Her proof? A study that looked at the donating habits of college students. Except, it didn’t look at all the donating habits, just whether or not the student checked the box to donate to a liberal political group or a “nonpartisan” group trying to lower tuition.
[Head pounds desk]
For someone who is supposedly educated, Professor Fruit Loops seems oblivious to the glaring flaw in that conclusion.
And the kicker:
Sociologist Amitai Etzioni takes a stab at an answer. He argues that neoclassical economics isn’t a problem in itself. Instead, the problem may be that there are no “balancing†classes, ones that present a different kind of economics. In other part of the academy, he argues — specifying social philosophy, politicalscience, and sociology– there is “a great variety ofapproaches are advanced, thereby leaving students witha consolidated debasing exposure and a cacophony ofconflicting pro-social views.â€
Being exposed to a variety of views, including ones that question the premises of neoclassical economics, may be one way to make economists more honest and kind. And doing so isn’t just about sticking one to econ, it’s an issue of grave seriousness, as the criminal and immoral behavior of our financial leaders is exactly what triggered a Great Recession once… and could again.
Listen, Dr. Dipshit, the Great Recession was caused because technocrats decided they knew what was better for society and forced banks to make bad loans. What resulted was exactly what neoclassical economics predicted when government interferes with market forces.
People like these make it hard for me to take sociology seriously.
FSM, I wish this was an April Fools post.