Economics, pluralism and democracy: An interview with Professor Ha-Joon Chang

https://ejpe.org/journal/article/view/920/717

by robaato • 2 years ago

2 1 2 years ago

robaato• 2 years ago

If we then turn to pluralism more closely, it’s perhaps best to start with the definition of economics, because it's a crucial piece in thinking about pluralism. How do you see what economics is—how to define economics?

I define economics as the study of the economy. To put it very simply, how we produce, exchange, consume, and these days waste, our goods and services. I know that many mainstream economists try to define it in terms of methods, essentially defining it as the study of rational choice. I think that's not right, because all other disciplines are defined in terms of the subject matter that is studied. Chemistry is the study of chemical substances; sociology is the study of society. Because these days someone can be a professor of economics in a big university despite not studying what people normally understand to be economic issues. The best example is Steven Levitt and his book Freakonomics, where he basically discusses human behaviour. It’s an interesting book. But is there anything in that book that we normally think of as economics? It's about how sumo wrestlers collude with each other, how American school teachers cheat, and so on. All very interesting, but there's nothing about the economy.

Economics, pluralism and democracy: An interview with Professor Ha-Joon Chang

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