Most
“social scientists” are actually narrow technical specialists – in such
subjects as economics or political science – loathe to threaten their career
path by taking on big issues or using clear language…
Hugh
Stretton, who died earlier this month at the age of 91, was a polymath
whose work should be a powerful reproof to the rubbish most social scientists
inflict on us. His work ranged from The
Political Sciences (1969); Capitalism,
Socialism and the Environment (1976); to a 900 page anti-Samuelson textbook
Economics;
a new introduction (1999)
Forty
years on, I still feel the tingle brought on by the clarity of his
writing in the second of these books - and regret that I failed to notice his
1999 blockbuster which looks to deserve inclusion in any short list of key
books about Economics.
There
is a nice vignette
of his work in this paper which stresses the social democratic essence of
the man and should shame those of us who come from that tradition to do more to
reassert it….(Craig Murray has a recent post about the present UK
Labour leadership contest in that vein)
Sadly, Stretton’s work does not seem to have
impacted beyond Australia although Steve Keen (of Debunking
Economics fame) carries on the tradition.
JK Galbraith is one of a handful of social
scientists who has been able to surmount the ostracism and ridicule generally
heaped on those who challenge what he called “the conventional wisdom” with
superb clarity of writing……
While googling for more material on Stretton, I
came across this fascinating 734 page Biographical Dictionary of Dissenting Economists
which, curiously, fails to include him…….not specialist enough??????
For those wanting more on Debunking Economics –
there are a couple
of freebies here and here
