"People said it because other people said it. They did not know why it was being said and heard everywhere. They did not give or ask for reasons. Reason...is the most naive of all superstitions." Ayn Rand (228)
"Economics and economists cannot evade their responsibility over such rules and instituions [society] by shifting attention to trivialities. To the extent that they do so, their functional roles can only be filled by the charlatans and the fools, whose presence about us requires no demonstration." James Buchanan (209)
I talked to a professor last week. He passionately supports reason. His goal is to rid economics of intellectual dishonesty. I think Buchanan and the Austrians subscribe to the same mission.
The difference is that the Austrians see economics as a "very peculiar science." My professor sees economics as a pure science.
I do not know. I think I want to join the Freakonomics crowd. I want to study the economics of waking up in the morning in the 21st century, but I cannot do it here. I have to fight the "charlatans and fools" so I can get a degree. I do not know how much fight I have left in me.
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