Economics for Real

1  Saving truth for economics¹

Frank Hindriks

Many economic theories contain assumptions that are generally regarded as false. Because of this, many economists have an ambivalent attitude towards their own science. They often take theories that contain false assumptions to be false themselves, and one can easily get the impression that many of them believe that the idea that one should pursue true theories in economics is misplaced. In light of this, Mark Blaug has argued that ‘modern economics is sick’ (2002: 36). As a slogan that should capture the attitude of many contemporary economists, he suggests: ‘No Reality Please. We're Economists’ (Blaug 2002: 36). This provides a challenge for realist interpretations of economics, as a concern for ...