Regarding Economists

In these turbulent times economists have risen closer to the forefront of many people’s thoughts. With the economies of the Civilized World in a level of disarray more common among the failed states of the Third World the words and opinions of economists are listened to and called wisdom.

If people are going to grant weight to these pundits’ often conflicting theories, however, it behooves people to remember one simple fact:

In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.

Peter Drucker

It would be utterly foolish to blithely discount the economists’ hypotheses and theories; they have, after all, studied the art form – it’s not a science at macroeconomic levels – of economics. Yet people should remember that these economists are safe and to a large extent protected from the results of their experiments.

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2 Responses to “Regarding Economists”

  1. ichabod Says:

    Hi jonolan;

    I have been thinking about you for the last few days in respect to what I perceive to be your ideology based on our communications.

    We most often agree and a few times not, yet your opinion always holds weight with me as I know it is honest and well thought out.

    Where we sometimes differ is in respect to physical force or using violence as a means to an end.

    After reading a news article about a man who went to see a movie with his wife and children, leaving to rape another woman (unknown to him) and returning to see the movie with his family, I think I am realizing why you think the way you do, for it seems that some people do not deserve compassion.

    Anyway, I apologize for digressing from the topic above, but I agree with you on this 🙂

  2. zhann Says:

    It will be hard to top that rape story, but I also wholly agree with your above sentiment, especially the quote. Economists are all guessing, generally using evidence that they feel furthers their guess as proof, and when a particular event happens, those that were right say ‘I told you so’, those who were wrong apologize, and the guessing continues into the next round. Round after round, new victors come to the top using the same techniques, yet rarely does one person come to the top more often than the rest.

    Like sports theorists and stock analysts, economists are just trying to make a buck. Putting any faith in one over the other simply shows an individuals desired outcomes or prejudices.

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