Stephen Marglin Heterodox Economics: Alternatives to Mankiw's Ideology

Occupy Harvard Teach-In #1 12/7/2011
"Heterodox Economics: Alternatives to Mankiw's Ideology"
Stephen Marglin, Walter Barker Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

http://occupyharvard.net/

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• harvard
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• economics
• alternative

[IlirMr]

Forget about the ideology. The logical flaws can easily exposed, along with the inaccurate predictions. Just ask two simple questions? What are quality and convenience? When is the one of the superior more valuable than an infinite quantity of the inferior? Alex Gheg's vid is less than 10 minutes and will stump any Prof in class. youtube.com/watch?v=2c4mvGekYZ­Y

[pqnelson]

@jcamargo2005 It is not true that "Classical economics is just economics". In the 1860s, the "marginal revolution" changed supply and demand from being a rule-of-thumb to an iron law stemming from bogus psychological reasoning. Although this superficially resembled classical economics, it is different and distinct.

There are serious alternatives to this marginalist paradigm. The Santa Fe Institute, for example, is developing a "complexity school" where classical economics emerges nonlinearly!

[pabloisotom]

Is this about him and his course or about economics?

[nerfmyaccount]

@jcamargo2005 the difference is Marglin/heterodox economists try to acknowledge their ideological bents rather than pretending, as the neoclassicists do, that they don't have any. As his colleague said "we teach one kind of economics at Harvard, good economics." That statement was spoken while the global economy is collapsing, ecological catastrophe is neglected, and governments are failing. If that isn't dripping in ideology then the Pope is an axiomatic theorem producer.

[jcamargo2005]

So Greg Mankiw was ideological and this is not? First minute and he starts to mention american politics. Ten minutes and he is talking about 'we as a nation' and social problems. Classical Economics is just economics, it is controversial and gets continuously 'revised'. First by Keynes and all his followers and now these clowns, that think they have an 'alternative'. Best thing is, let these ignorants preach to themselves and learn economics for yourself, to actually know how things work.

[peetasmith1]

@LogicalFlawDetector I claimed one neo-keynsian predicted the crash - Proff Steve Keen, as well as a number of modern Georgists all using debt based models. You really are a master of Straw Men when it comes to debate Mr Logic Flaw.

[peetasmith1]

@LogicalFlawDetector Neoclassical economics is not just microeconomics. Mankiw is a macro economist and used the neoclassical synthesis as the basis of his work, critiqued here. Neoclassical economics is not confined to microeconomics and is used by all levels of Government to advise on macro economic policy. It has singularly failed, we need better economic models . You assertion this is just about microeconomics is a 'straw men' and a fundamental logic flaw on your part.

[LogicalFlawDetector]

@peetasmith1

Neoclassical economics is microeconomics. The class Marglin is critiquing, EC 10, is a microeconomics class. New Keynesian economics is macroeconomics. Bubbles, crashes, business cycles--which you erroneously claim the New Keynesians predicted accurately--are also part of macroeconomics which have nothing to do with this video. You need to learn what you are talking about. Both schools suck at macro. Neoclassical dominates and is the best when it comes to micro.

[peetasmith1]

@LogicalFlawDetector - Neoclassical economics has failed to predict many issues and has many fundamental flaws such as its inability to deal with debt and rentier issues. Just massacring the straw men of ill-informed Marxists and Austrians does not really lend any credibility to you argument. I like the work of neoKeynesian like Steve Keen and modern Georgists who have a lot to inform neoclassicals like your good self and had the ability to predict the crash with excellent mathematical models.

[nerfmyaccount]

@TallFastLoud A small group of people in Chicago got together and made the bold prediction that rich people would get richer. It happened. Ergo, freshwater. Q.E.D.