We do know a great deal about
We do know a great deal about how economies function. We all know what raising interest rates will do to investment, to currency exchange. We know the power of monetary and fiscal policy. We even know, thanks to Minsky that “stability is destabalising”.
Economics has wasted several generations in a sad desire to emulate 19th century physics. If we tone down rigor and math and increase empirical observation we can make economics useful again.
The reinvention of sociology
Both economics and sociology are slowly but surely overcoming the 'Economy and Society' paradigm. In doing so, both disciplines get used to the idea of the economy being a subsystem of the society. Economists will stop with 'purifying' market models by increasingly abstracting from social 'boundary conditions' just as well as economic sociologists will give up their idea of socially embedding the market (or will be telling what 'social embedding' means in their regard: e.g. political, legal, esthetic, scientific or religious embedding), in such way becoming much more open to the idea of the export of market models and concepts to the sphere formerly called 'the social'. Both disciplines will work hand in hand on the invention or selection of mathematical languages that suit social (including economic) problems much better than statistics and algebra do right now.
INET is one of the shinning beacon of hope!
Dear everyone
First of all I would like to thank everyone (especially George Soros) for having founded this Institute, I have no doubts that you have the potential of being one of the path-defining events/institutes for the paradigm of economic thoughts in the next decades.
Secondly I sincerely hope that I have understood your concept of "getting engaged" into the conversation correctly. My understanding of it is that you want to open up the debate for everyone to participate? I am merely a young graduate student myself, but with a keen interest into the problems of the methodological and epistemological foundation of economic reasoning.
This leads me to my last point, of what hope I see for reinventing economics for the 21st century. Well simply put the debates this institute wants to raise is one of the primary reason I see for a change in economic thinking. Secondly the resource this institute can become for young students and scholar and finding new ideas and materials for studying these ideas I would say is of profound importance. Already with you video section (I hope you will be uploading your panel talks from the opening conference to us in the general public?) as well as the papers of the speakers from your conference is of great inspirations.
I will be looking forward to following this institute unfold, and once again I thank you all for being able to find inspiration at this place.
Best regards
Lasse de la Porte Simonsen
Student at the Graduate course of Global Studies, Roskilde University, Denmark
reinvention of economics
There is urgent need to revise obsolete concepts like scarce resources and unlimited wants. Resources indeed are no more unlimited, resources require to be managed and developed properly. Wants are also not unlimited. What are the basic wants for a prosperous individual, family or a society? Even with available resources, if not wasted or diverted to non-productive uses, wants of absolute majority can be taken care of.
Resources were scarce before industrial revolution and they were, generally speaking, limited till last decade of the 20th century.
Our economic text books do not take solar and wind energy into account as they do not fall into definition of Land category that represents all natural resources. Even otherwise, land resources and water resources if used efficiently with conservation and recycling, developed with the help of new tools and technologies, can be more than sufficient to satisfy the wants of the people and guarantee sustainability of growth as well.
Human resource is also unlimited, yet it is underdeveloped and underutilized.
Science and technology particularly its Innovations have emerged as stand-alone resource and is acting objectively, hence, should be taken into account for Production Possibility Curve.
Good Governance of the government, that includes its role as regulator, conducive environment creator, human capacity developer to infra-structure provider, is another resource or factor that must be incorporated into circular flow model.,
On the other hand, economics should be grouped into three relatively distinct areas: micro-economics, macro-economics and social-economics. Social economics includes population economics, health economics, psychological well being economics, education economics, sociology economics etc
REINVENTION OF ECONOMIC CONCEPTS
There is urgent need to revise obsolete concepts like scarce resources and unlimited wants. Resources indeed are no more unlimited, resources require to be managed and developed properly. Wants are also not unlimited. What are the basic wants for a prosperous individual, family or a society? Even with available resources, if not wasted or diverted to non-productive uses, wants of absolute majority can be taken care of.
Resources were scarce before industrial revolution and they were, generally speaking, limited till last decade of the 20th century.
Our economic text books do not take solar and wind energy into account as they do not fall into definition of Land category that represents all natural resources. Even otherwise, land resources and water resources if used efficiently with conservation and recycling, developed with the help of new tools and technologies, can be more than sufficient to satisfy the wants of the people and guarantee sustainability of growth as well.
Human resource is also unlimited, yet it is underdeveloped and underutilized.
Science and technology particularly its Innovations have emerged as stand-alone resource and is acting objectively, hence, should be taken into account for Production Possibility Curve.
Good Governance of the government, that includes its role as regulator, conducive environment creator, human capacity developer to infra-structure provider, is another resource or factor that must be incorporated into circular flow model.,
On the other hand, economics should be grouped into three relatively distinct areas: micro-economics, macro-economics and social-economics. Social economics includes population economics, health economics, psychological well being economics, education economics, sociology economics etc
What gives you hope the economics can be reinvented for the ....
It has to, either before a total melt down of the financial system or society, or afterwards. We will in retrospect conclude that mankind has never seen a more dark age than now. It is a question of perspective to see it. Very few economists realize this. When we understand that human values are the most important factor of economic and social long term development, we will rearrange our thinking totally.
independent people with a commitment to scientific thinking
there are people on this planet who have dreams, who are smart and who are able and willing to think (in depth) about the status quo. people with a flexible mind and a real commitment to scientific thinking. we have to support those people and their independent minds. some sadly loose their independent thinking during their education and/or when they have to learn how to survive financially...but not all of them!
New book, new answers
Simply read
Dynamics of Markets, The New Financial Economics
Cambridge, Nov., 20009.
http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521429627
The critique of equilibrum/stationarity/rational expectations is presented, it is shown that stationarity/equilibrium
contradicts the efficient market hypothesis, and new ideas are offered for new economic thinking.
The ideosphere
The best hope the economics can be reinvented for the 21st century comes from an idea called ideosphere. Originally proposed as a means to solve issues of digital piracy, the "ideosphere" is a new economic sphere based on a new currency - intellectual property currency. Starting alongside the "old" economy, the ideosphere has a long-range potential to absorb billions of unemployed from the old economy.
- 1 of 4
- ››
