PK on accounting reform
In Paul Krugman's 5/21/02 NY TIMES colun:One final thought: This [accounting reform] isn't just a question of treating American investors fairly. Like the Asian nations before their crisis, the United States relies heavily on inflows of foreign capital, inflows that depend on international faith in the integrity of U.S. markets. The Bush administration may believe that investors have nowhere else to go, that the money will keep coming even if we don't reform. That's what Suharto thought, too. By the way, a media evaluation web-page voted PK's column the most consistently partisan of op-ed regulars. As I told PK, not that there's anything wrong with it. JD
Re: PK on accounting reform
On Tue, 21 May 2002, Devine, James wrote: By the way, a media evaluation web-page voted PK's column the most consistently partisan of op-ed regulars. As I told PK, not that there's anything wrong with it. More partisan that pro-Israeli fire-eater and let's-go-get-Saddam William Safire? Fred
Re: The Storming of the Accountants
Joan Robinson thought economists of the neo-classical line suffered from mumpsimus (spelling I can't remember). But the problem was continuation in an error long after it had been pointed out. Greetings Economists, Michael Hoover sent us an account in a recent New Statesman of the Post Autistic Economics reaction in France against the emphasis on mathematics in economic theory. While I share the skepticism toward the use of mathematics in capitalist economics, the label Post Autistic Economics is anti disabled. I think it worthwhile then to consider what is the problem with mathematics in economic theory from the point of view of why this label is anti disabled. For example in the press account they (the New Statesman) write, The phrase post-autistic has a touch of Gallic cruelty about it Doyle So the New Statesman as much as admits that some prejudice motivates the labeling of an economics that is problem with a disability. Being aware of the problem does not mitigate the common reaction that a metaphor is highly useful way of conveying information. So is the label accurate? The New Statesman article writes, autistic is intended to imply an obsessive preoccupation with numbers Doyle, This is the critical point of error. Autism is being conflated with obsession. Is that a truth? Let's just take some online sources to understand what I am getting at. http://www.certec.lth.se/english/autism/kunskap_e.html from a history of Autism, For a very long time, autism and psychosis continued to be confused and to this day parents are accused of causing the serious disabilities their autistic children have. Doyle I will paste below the short summary history I quote in part above so that a general outline of Autism is present on the Pen-L list. But the quote above is adequate to get my point across. An autistic is not an obsessive. The claim that autism is a metaphorical description of mathematics in economics conveys an accurate account of the issue of what goes wrong with economics so described as 'autistic' is to an informed person about prejudice against disabled people not a good metaphor. If one were to pursue looking at Autism more deeply, then one would encounter some important theories about what Autism is. The most important theory in use to understand Autism in regard to what the French react to in Capitalist Economics is called Joint Attention theory (see reference below pasted in). A more informative way of describing the faultiness of the metaphor of Autism is that the problem is a deficit of a language like usage of mathematics in economics. That seems to me to be of highly important relevance to the use of Mathematics in Economics. There are considerable fields of research in linguistics that both consider mathematics in human language and cognition and as applied to communications tools. So we have the tools to approach the problem with significant insight without resort to metaphors that are bigoted and prejudiced. To characterize economics that uses mathematics in Joint Attention terms is to focus upon how information is shared and understood. The French are obviously worked up by the use of statistics to form policy which is incapable of listening to the results. An arbitrary ordering of society through numbers that defy human experience. None of this sort of understanding needs to be about labeling capitalist economists as about disabled people parallels associations etc., and that is why this is a problem. In particular this does point at understanding how to communicate and areas in science that might yield insight and social reform or in my view give the working class new tools to fight with. thanks, Doyle Saylor http://www.certec.lth.se/english/autism/kunskap_e.html The History of Autism · In 1908, Eugen Bleuler coined the word autism in schizophrenic patients who screened themselves off and were self-absorbed. · In 1943, the American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner described 11 children with the following common traits: impairments in social interaction, anguish for changes, good memory, belated echolalia, over sensitivity to certain stimuli (especially sound), food problems, limitations in spontaneous activity, good intellectual potential, often coming from talented families. He called the children autistic. · In 1944, Hans Asperger, independent of Kanner, wrote about a group of children he called autistic psychopaths. In most aspects they resembled the children of Kanner's description. The difference was that he did not mention echolalia as a linguistic problem but that the children talked like little grown-ups. In addition he mentioned their motor activity which was more clumsy and different from normal children. · Bruno Bettelheim wrote about three therapy sessions with children in The Empty Fortress. He called them autistic and claimed that their disorder was due to the coldness of their mothers. He totally disengaged the
Spitzer wimps out
Merrill Settles With Spitzer By Ben White Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, May 21, 2002; 9:23 AM NEW YORK, May 21--Merrill Lynch Co. has reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that requires the securities firm to pay a $100 million fine and express contrition for the behavior of its research analysts and more formally separate the firm's investment bankers and analysts. After weeks of sometimes slow and painful negotiations, the two sides struck the deal at 2:15 this morning that allows Merrill to avoid civil or criminal charges. Details of the agreement will be announced at a news conference in lower Manhattan today. A Spitzer spokesman said the deal includes everything that the attorney general wanted even though Merrill Lynch will not formally admit wrongdoing. The brokerage giant had said throughout the negotiations that to do so would open the firm to shareholder lawsuits. Spitzer had been investigating Merrill Lynch for a year, but the two sides began negotiating a settlement in earnest several weeks ago when the attorney general released subpoenaed e-mails in which former Merrill Internet analyst Henry Blodget and others privately derided as crap and junk stocks the firm was publicly recommending. Spitzer alleged that Merrill analysts committed fraud against investors by recommending stocks they knew to be of questionable value in order to generate or maintain lucrative investment banking fees for their firm. He has broadened his investigation and sent subpoenas to a handful of other Wall Street firms. The spokesman for Spitzer said the other firms were now on deck and that the attorney general would press forward unless the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed tougher rules governing securities analysts than the ones the agency approved earlier this month.
ilan pappe
Exerpt from petition in support of . . . Dr. Ilan Pappe, who holds a rank roughly equivalent to a tenured Associate Professor, criticized the institution (University of Haifa) and its procedures following the nullification of a highly controversial Master's thesis that documented the fates of 5 Arab villages in northern Israel during the 1948 war. The thesis, which was originally approved with an excellent grade, was later nullified following pressure from veterans groups. These groups threatened a libel suit because the thesis portrayed them as possibly being responsible for a massacre. Dr Pappe unequivocally asserted in his e-mail postings that the thesis was nullified not on professional or scholarly grounds, but for personal and political reasons. . . . TO SIGN, GO HERE: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/pappe/petition.html
gould dies at 60
Famed biologist, author Stephen Jay Gould dies at 60 BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) --Stephen Jay Gould, a world-renowned scientist who brought evolutionary theory and paleontology to a broad public audience in dozens of wide-ranging books and essays, died Monday of cancer. He was 60, and died at his home in New York City, according to his assistant, Stephanie Schur. Most of us just appreciated that in Steve we had someone who put this very positive public face on paleontology, who was able to reach an audience that most of us would never reach and not nearly so effectively, said Andrew Knoll, a colleague of Gould's at Harvard University for 20 years. He really was paleontology's public intellectual. Gould became one of America's most recognizable scientists, not only for his voluminous and accessible writings but for his participation in public debates with creation scientists and even his disagreements with other evolutionary theorists. Gould championed the teaching evolutionary science in school curricula, arguing that it not be challenged by creation science, whose advocates made Gould an enemy. But he also engaged in vigorous disputes with his fellow evolutionary theorists, particularly for his theory of punctuated equilibria. Gould argued that evolution occurred in relatively rapid spurts of species differentiation rather than via gradual, continuous transformations. He believed short-term contingencies could play as important a role as irresistible evolutionary pressure. Gould also rooted his ideas of evolution by examining patterns of statistical deviation, using it as a lens to view everything from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the demise of the .400 hitter in baseball. A longtime New York Yankees fan, he appeared in Ken Burns' PBS documentary history of the sport and in 1999 wrote an obituary tribute to Joe DiMaggio for The Associated Press. He also was an amateur choir singer, practicing every Monday night for many years at Boston's Cecilia Society, Knoll said. Gould called human evolution a fortuitous cosmic afterthought. He was known for his engaging, often witty style evident in his columns in Natural History magazine, as well as collections of essays, including Ever Since Darwin, The Panda's Thumb. His book The Mismeasure of Man, a study of intelligence testing, won the National Book Critics Award in 1982. Later books included Dinosaur in a Haystack and Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life. He received his bachelor's degree from Antioch College in 1963 and a doctorate from Columbia University. For his doctoral dissertation, Gould investigated the fossil land snails of Bermuda. Gould also did work toward his doctorate at the American Museum of Natural History. Survivors include his second wife, Rhonda Roland Shearer, with whom he had no children. He had two sons with his previous wife, Schur said. Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/05/20/obit.gould.ap/index.html
Mass Customization/Flexible Accumulation
[Financial Times] Mass customisation: Make every one different By Peter Marsh Published: May 21 2002 11:43 | Last Updated: May 21 2002 11:43 At a factory in Wichita, Kansas, run by the Cessna aircraft company, a gleaming new Citation Excel executive jet rolls off the production line roughly every three days. While they may look almost identical, virtually every aircraft, which sell for an average of about Dollars 10m and are assembled from about 30,000 parts, is different depending on the requirements of the customer. The production line at Cessna - which is part of the Textron industrial conglomerate - is a good example of the trend in much of industry towards mass customisation. This term was introduced in the early 1990s to describe how manufacturers can satisfy customer demand for product variants by introducing them into traditional factories. But they don't sacrifice manufacturing efficiencies, the absence of which can push up costs and make the company uncompetitive. According to a seminal paper* in the Harvard Business Review in 1993, mass customisation requires a dynamic and flexible organisation. The authors say the combination of how and when they (different production units) make a product or provide a service is constantly changing in response to what each customer wants and needs. Since this paper was written, more manufacturers have realised they need to introduce variation into production as a way of keeping customers happy - but without returning to employing craftsmen to fashion items in single batches and at astronomic cost. Cessna has introduced principles of lean manufacturing to speed up production and worker efficiency, while at the same time allowing for a large degree of product variation. Last year Cessna made 81 Excel aircraft, one of the company's best-selling models. This is a five-fold improvement on 1998, since when the number of direct assembly workers has risen two-and-a-half times. In other words, worker productivity over this period has doubled. Behind the improvement has been a number of changes to the processes on the assembly line involving extra worker training and a re-classification of the 1,000 or so individual assembly jobs that it takes to fit the parts together on an individual aircraft. The result is that production variation is catered for by substituting different parts and sub-assembly routines within a mass-production environment. According to Garry Hay, Cessna's chief executive, the company's ability to provide a high level of customisation without overly pushing up costs is a key factor behind the company's good profits record and its likely increase in sales from Dollars 2.8bn last year to Dollars 3.1bn this year. This is in spite of a cooling of the world economic climate. Also keen on mass customisation is FAG Kugelfischer, a German manufacturer with sales last year of Euros 2.2bn and which is Europe's second biggest maker of rolling bearings (devices essential to virtually all kinds of rotary motion) after SKF of Sweden. Uwe Loos, FAG's chief executive, suggests that how well the company can move in the direction of customised bearings that suit individual tastes will be a key determinant of future earnings growth. Mr Loos says: In the bearings industry globally, 70 per cent of the sales come from standard bearings and just 30 per cent from special or customised bearings. At FAG, the ratio is closer to the other way round - 30 per cent standard and 70 per cent specials - and I want to move the ratio even further, to about 20:80, in the next few years. A reason for this goal is that, frequently, the profit margins on special, custom-made bearings are higher than for conventional standard bearings - a factor of their higher price. While the bearings churned out in their hundreds of thousands for car wheels might sell for tens of dollars, a high-tech bearing for a jet engine might cost Dollars 15,000. The interest in mass customisation can be seen in FAG's main German ball-bearings plant in Schweinfurt, near Wurzburg. Here 270 people work using a high level of automated plant to turn out some 13,000 bearings a day, weighing 25 tonnes. While the casual observer might imagine the bearings were nearly all the same, in fact each day's output can be divided into 50-60 types. The main components for each bearing - the inner and outer rings, balls and cage to hold the balls in place - are shipped in the correct quantities and dimensions to separate units or cells charged with manufacturing individual product types. As much of the detailed assembly (such as inserting balls inside a pair of inner and outer rings) is left to machinery, it is important to make the machines easy to re-programme to increase their flexibility. That, in turn, allows smaller production runs and a greater degree of product variance without unacceptable increases in costs. Jens Krohn, FAG manager in charge of the ball-bearings plant, says: Increasingly we are
partisanship
Here's the original article on partisanship (which seems like it has a laughable methodology) -- To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9598-2002May13.html Ranking the Big-Time Pundits By Howard Kurtz Do you find some columnists eminently predictable? Can you figure out their position on virtually any issue before picking up the paper? Ever have the sense that they defend Bush on matters for which they would have barbecued Clinton (or vice versa)? We confess to such feelings occasionally. The best columnists, it seems to us, have not just a fast ball and slider but a good curve ball, the ability to surprise readers with an occasional contrarian stance. To zig when everyone else is zagging. Even commentators who are usually liberal or conservative sometimes demonstrate their creatity (not to mention independence) by challenging the company line. Those who don't come to resemble partisan warriors over time. Sort of like Terry McAuliffe and Marc Racicot, but better writers. Now comes a little-known blog called a href=http://www.lyinginponds.com;LyingInPonds.com/a (don't ask us) to attempt to rate the opinion-mongers at three major newspapers for predictability this year. We're not vouching for the methodology (the mathematical explanation was a little complicated for us), but they are rated by a Partisanship Index (or PI) based on how often they back Republicans and bash Democrats, or bash Republicans and back Democrats. The envelope, please: The Wall Street Journal has five columnists in the top ten (out of a total of 34 pundits) and eight of their nine in the top half of the rankings. Paul Krugman has been able to effortlessly stay ahead of the Journal crew so far. His steady anti-Republican screed stream gives him a huge lead in Median PI. The other pundits mix in more columns on non-partisan topics and occasionally find that all issues do not break down neatly along partisan lines. The '90's aren't over yet for Michael Kelly and Robert L. Bartley; they are in the top five mostly because they keep the anti-Clinton columns coming. Lavish praise for George W. Bush puts Peggy Noonan high on the list. None of the Wall Street Journal pundits wander off the Republican reservation. The New York Times pundits are by far the most anti-Bush. The Washington Post has two Michaels (Kelly and Kinsley) at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum in or near the top ten. Here's the list, with partisan score: 1. Paul Krugman, New York Times (88) 2. Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal (45) 3. Robert Bartley, Wall Street Journal (44) 4. Michael Kelly, Washington Post (44) 5. Michael Kinsley, Washington Post (35) 6. Thomas Bray, Wall Street Journal (35) 7. Claudia Rosett, Wall Street Journal (33) 8. Mary McGrory, Washington Post (29) 9. Frank Rich, New York Times (28) 10. Collin Levey, Wall Street Journal (23) And the editorial pages: 1. Wall Street Journal (23) 2. New York Times (14) 3. Washington Post (4) Who is this guy, you might ask? Lying in Ponds is the creation of Ken Waight, a research meteorologist who lives in Cary, North Carolina with his wonderful wife and three awesome children. He says by e-mail that he'll try to keep up the rankings but would like to stay happily married and gainfully employed. - Jim Devine
Re: gould dies at 60
Stephen Gould's is a great loss. He seems to have been an exceptional person in many ways. He certainly has enriched my understanding of economic processes, especially with his theory of the punctuated equilibrium. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Re: gould dies at 60
Michael Perelman writes: Stephen Gould's is a great loss. He seems to have been an exceptional person in many ways. He certainly has enriched my understanding of economic processes, especially with his theory of the punctuated equilibrium. I loved Gould's work, especially his MISMEASURE OF MAN, a needed critique of IQ tests and the like. But I think though the theory of punctuated equilibrium is an important contribution to evolutionary theory, it isn't that important to economics. In economics, it's suspiciously akin to the standard idea of comparative statics. (BTW, there was an article in SCIENCE SOCIETY a few years ago, likening Gould's method to that of Marx.) By coincidence, on Sunday I saw Charles Darwin: Live and in Concert, an amusing and informative one-man show done by Richard Milner, senior editor of NATURAL HISTORY magazine (cf. http://www.nhm.org/whatsnew/lectures/darwin.html) at the L.A. Museum of Natural History. As part of his show, he had a song about Gould, a school friend of his. We bought Milner's book and CD and had them autograph. Said I: you're a ham -- like your friend Stephen J. Gould. Said he: unfortunately, he's dying of cancer. Alas. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: RE: Re: PK on accounting reform
Devine, James wrote: -- alas, partisan seems to mean anti-GOP or anti-Dem. JD That's what political means legally too I believe. That is why our type of political organization can often get tax-exempt status. Opposing the United States is non-partisan, while opposing (or supporting) either Tweedledum or Tweedledee is partisan. :-) Carrol
Re: PK on accounting reform
On Tue, 21 May 2002, Fred B. Moseley wrote: a media evaluation web page voted PK's column the most consistently partisan of op-ed regulars. More partisan that pro-Israeli fire-eater and let's-go-get-Saddam William Safire? Hey, fair's fair -- Safire's a flaming asshole on those issues, but he was also violently against military tribunals from the very beginning when barely anybody else in the editorial mainstream was making a peep. So he's got some right to be considered less perfectly consistent in his partisanship. Although of course I think there's no doubt PK's column is better. Frankly, at the moment, I think it's the best bi-weekly editorial column in the country. Which is kind of remarkable, considering how bad it was for his first nine months. The guy seems to have approached column writing like a problem, wrestled with it, and solved it. Although it certainly helps him that Bush got elected. PK is much better on offense than defense. Michael
Re: RE: Re: gould dies at 60
- Original Message - From: Devine, James [EMAIL PROTECTED] I loved Gould's work, especially his MISMEASURE OF MAN, a needed critique of IQ tests and the like. But I think though the theory of punctuated equilibrium is an important contribution to evolutionary theory, it isn't that important to economics. In economics, it's suspiciously akin to the standard idea of comparative statics. (BTW, there was an article in SCIENCE SOCIETY a few years ago, likening Gould's method to that of Marx.) To study the temporal dynamics of organisms and ecosystems [heterochrony] is to flirt with insanity. To be anthropomorphic, evolution is not interested in equilibrium or stasis. Ian
RE: PK
Michael Pollak: Although of course I think there's no doubt PK's column is better. Frankly, at the moment, I think it's the best bi-weekly editorial column in the country. Which is kind of remarkable, considering how bad it was for his first nine months. The guy seems to have approached column writing like a problem, wrestled with it, and solved it. I think it's because PK [Paul Krugman] has seen his job as being the defender of the middle, the establishmentarian Truth, trashing the nuts of the left (like Robert Reich) and right. Then, the country shifted dramatically to the right, so that there are no relevant lefties to critique. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
RE: Mass Customization/Flexible Accumulation
For a good piece on related issues and a great example from a NY restaurant menu, see Bruce Pietrykowski, Consuming Culture in Rethinking Marxism from a the mid nineties.
Re: Re: gould dies at 60
In a message dated 5/21/02 9:04:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Stephen Gould's is a great loss. He seems to have been an exceptional person in many ways. He certainly has enriched my understanding of economic processes, especially with his theory of the punctuated equilibrium. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 This comment puzzles me! Gould was indeed a national treasure in many ways. Overall he played a tremendously positive role in bringing the sometimes subtle ideas of modern evolutionary theory to a broader public. And he must certainly be honored for his leading role in combatting the creationists of the religious right. But it is also true that Gould himself had some weaknesses. Especially in recent years he seemed to lean toward compromising with religion, or accomodating science to religion. This was sad to see. He was famous for bringing every topic under the sun into his long series of columns in Natural History. On the one hand this showed the breadth of his knowledge and erudition. On the other hand, it sometimes meant that he talked about things in an authoritative way that he really hadn't thought through himself. One example that used to annoy me greatly was his occasional naive comments about ethics and morality, such as putting forward the Golden Rule as the essence of the matter. Although he was brought up in a Marxist family he failed to grasp the very basic Marxist point of view that both political ideas--and ALSO morality--are at bottom a matter of ideologized class interests. The theory of punctuated equilibria in evolution, which was the joint product of Gould and Niles Eldridge, is indeed important, and is certainly quite true. Sometimes people do present it in too absolute a way, however, when they say or imply that there is NO gradual change and ONLY sudden punctuations. (Dialectically, the two interpenetrate.) An interesting thing about this theory of punk-e, however, and one which Gould himself sometimes acknowledged, is that it is really only the application of a long-established more general principle of Marxist dialectics to the field of evolution. That is, Marxists going back to Marx and Engels themselves, have traditionally held that major change takes place through qualitative leaps. (Thus water after it is heated up gradually, suddenly begins to boil. And even when you look at gradual change itself on a close enough scale you will see that it is ALSO made up of numerous small dialectical leaps--such as when water molecules suddenly acquire a surge in energy by contact with the tea kettle or other hotter water molecules. This however does not mean that there IS no such thing as gradual change--only that it changes our understanding of what gradual change really amounts to in the final analysis.) (For further discussion of this aspect of the dialectics of change, see the last couple sections of chapter 31 of my book on the mass line at: http://members.aol.com/TheMassLine/MLch31.htm ) Since it was Marxist philosophy that very likely gave rise to the original germ of the idea behind the theory of punctuated equilibria in the first place, I find it somewhat ironic that Michael should say that this theory should have in turn influenced him and others in the area of political economy. The question in my mind is why didn't Marxist philosophy have a more DIRECT influence here? I don't want to go too far with this, because for one thing Michael just made an off-hand comment here, and for another thing I have not even read much of Michael's books (although I am working on one of them, Marx's Crises Theory). I do not fully understand his thought processes and where he is coming from, let alone those of all the other contributors to this mail group. And I know I have much to learn from all of you. But Marx was first a philosopher, and I am certain that his philosophical outlook infused and and helped form his economic theories--as well as his method of presentation of those theories. I doubt if people can deeply understand Marx's political economy unless they also have a pretty good grasp of his philosophical standpoint and method. (Lenin and others have also emphasized this point.) And I suspect that many radical economists are pretty weak when it comes to understanding and utilizing Marxist dialectics. Just some thoughts... --Scott Harrison
Cuban cows
from SLATE's summary of today's news from major US papers: An article in the [Wall Street JOURNAL] says that Fidel Castro is pushing his scientists to clone milking-cows, with the goal being to replicate a famously productive, and now deceased, Cuban bovine beast. Castro turned to that plan after his previous scheme to provide endless milk proved a touch unrealistic. The idea, according to the paper, was to provide families with miniature milk-cows that they could keep in their apartments. The pint-sized beasts would graze on grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. I'm sorry, but it sounds as if Fidel -- or one of his advisors -- has partaken of some grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. The intent is good, but Lysenko's ghost is hovering near-by. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: Cuban cows
- Original Message - From: Devine, James [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 10:44 AM Subject: [PEN-L:26131] Cuban cows from SLATE's summary of today's news from major US papers: An article in the [Wall Street JOURNAL] says that Fidel Castro is pushing his scientists to clone milking-cows, with the goal being to replicate a famously productive, and now deceased, Cuban bovine beast. Castro turned to that plan after his previous scheme to provide endless milk proved a touch unrealistic. The idea, according to the paper, was to provide families with miniature milk-cows that they could keep in their apartments. The pint-sized beasts would graze on grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. I'm sorry, but it sounds as if Fidel -- or one of his advisors -- has partaken of some grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. The intent is good, but Lysenko's ghost is hovering near-by. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine Or the WSJ staff has been reading the National Enquirer while snorting their breakfast. Ian
Re: Cuban cows
I'm sorry, but it sounds as if Fidel -- or one of his advisors -- has partaken of some grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. The intent is good, but Lysenko's ghost is hovering near-by. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine Lysenko? What does he have to do with cloning? Leaving aside the merits of such an experiment, a far less smirking article appears in today's WSJ: Udderly Fantastic: Cuba Hopes To Clone Its Famous Milk Cow By PETER FRITSCH and JOSE DE CORDOBA Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SAN JOSE DE LAS LAJAS, Cuba -- Fidel Castro denies his scientists are developing deadly biological agents for the so-called axis of evil, as U.S. officials have alleged. But as part of what Mr. Castro calls the battle of ideas with the capitalist world, he has scientists hard at work on a project that could, if it works, strike fear in the hearts of Wisconsin dairy farmers. Cuban communism's most sacred cow -- a phenomenal milk-producing bovine called Ubre Blanca, or White Udder -- could come back to be milked again -- and again and again, if a team of geneticists has its way. The Cubans are cloning. Extolled by Mr. Castro for years as a symbol of the 1959 Revolution's endowments, Ubre Blanca holds the world record for milk production. On a single day in 1982, Cuban scientists say, farmers drew 241 pounds of milk -- more than four times a typical cow's production -- from an udder so distended from its service to the Revolution that it had begun to drag on the ground. That torrent was recognized by the record keepers at Guinness, who have also bestowed their titles on Mr. Castro: world's longest-serving head of state (43 years and counting) and world's longest United Nations speech (four hours and 29 minutes). To Cubans for whom fresh milk is now a rare and expensive luxury, the late Ubre (pronounced OO-bray) Blanca evokes memories of the days before the so-called Special Period -- the spectacular economic collapse that followed the implosion of the Soviet Union, Cuba's main benefactor, beginning in 1989. It seems like Ubre Blanca took all of our milk to her grave, says retiree Agustín Rodriguez, who spends a third of his $8 monthly pension on black-market milk, which he says is often ochre-colored. To Mr. Rodriguez, Ubre Blanca brings back memories of the early 1980s, when the cow was a staple on the state news and in newspapers -- and Soviet subsidies still kept Cuba afloat. Daily Milk Until the early 1990s, Cuban children got a daily glass of milk at school through age 13. Today, they are cut off when they reach seven. At times, there is no milk at all and people make do with a soy substitute. Last year, a milk producer in the eastern province of Guantanamo was arrested and fined by the National Revolutionary Police for illegal transportation of milk in the form of a 12-pound block of cheese. Scientists performed surgery on Ubre Blanca to harvest her eggs, hoping to create a master strain of heifers by fertilizing them and implanting them in other cows. But in 1985, she was put to sleep at about the age of 13. (Nobody knows exactly when she was born.) Her death was commemorated by Communist Party newspaper Granma with a long-winded eulogy. Her lactations earned her a place in the pantheon of Cuba's revolutionary heroes -- not to mention an air-conditioned resting place. Taxidermists stuffed her and put her in a climate-controlled glass case at the entrance to the National Cattle Health Center 10 miles outside Havana, where she still stands at attention. Ubre Blanca was honored by her home town of Nueva Gerona, which erected a marble statue in her memory. She gave her all for the people, even broke a U.S. record, says Pastor Ponce, an agronomist at the center who knew the famous cow in her glory days when Mr. Castro would stroke her fondly on TV. (He confirms, a bit sheepishly, that Ubre Blanca's grandfather was actually a Canadian Holstein.) Before Ubre Blanca was packed with sawdust, however, scientists carved tissue samples from her that remain frozen and preserved in special fluids at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana. We hope Steven Spielberg was prophetic when he made dinosaurs come back to life in Jurassic Park, says Fidel Ovidio, the center's chief of animal biotechnology. One of his proudest moments occurred earlier this month when Cuba's cow-cloning project was included in a slide presentation to Jimmy Carter. Jose Morales, leader of Cuba's cow-cloning team, cautions that while Cuba is very, very close to producing its first cloned cow, the island's scientists don't yet have the know-how to begin replicating Ubre Blanca from tissue that has been in the freezer for 17 years. But we do not discard the possibility that we'll be able to do this someday, he says. This project is very important to Comandante Castro. After the Soviet Union disappeared, animal feed, fuel, fertilizer and spare parts went with it.
RE: Re: Cuban cows
I wrote: I'm sorry, but it sounds as if Fidel -- or one of his advisors -- has partaken of some grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. The intent is good, but Lysenko's ghost is hovering near-by. Louis writes: Lysenko? What does he have to do with cloning? Leaving aside the merits of such an experiment, a far less smirking article appears in today's WSJ: less smirking? with all the puns about sheepish and the like? Lysenko is relevant, as I've been informed by a friend who's an expert on Soviet agriculture, because Lysenko became popular since he proposed a quick technical solution to a serious political-economic problem. Cuban's problems are completely different than those of the Stalin-era USSR, but there are similarities. Should any country's president really be micro-managing agricultural technology? Of course, Castro is being swept up in the world-wide cloning (and anti-cloning) fad. He's not alone. JD
Re: RE: Re: Cuban cows
Lysenko is relevant, as I've been informed by a friend who's an expert on Soviet agriculture, because Lysenko became popular since he proposed a quick technical solution to a serious political-economic problem. Cuban's problems are completely different than those of the Stalin-era USSR, but there are similarities. Should any country's president really be micro-managing agricultural technology? Of course, Castro is being swept up in the world-wide cloning (and anti-cloning) fad. He's not alone. JD I don't know whether Lysenko's reputation revolved around quick, technical solutions. I was under the impression that he was infamous for quackery under pressure from Stalin. For example, he claimed that wheat plants raised in the appropriate environment produce seeds of rye, which is equivalent to saying that dogs living in the wild give birth to foxes. As far as Castro micro-managing, I am under the impression from the WSJ article that he is doing any such thing. Mostly he seems to be motivating the project as we used to say in the SWP rather than squinting through microscopes. Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
Re: Re: Cuban cows
When I visited Cuba along with Jim Devine, one of the greatest sources of pride that I recall was the milk program. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Re: Re: gould dies at 60
Let me rephrase Scott's question crudely: if Marx developed punctuated equilibrium on his own and Gould was influenced by Marx, why would I possibly need Gould to help me understand punctuated equilibrium? This question makes me think of the difficulty that I sometimes encounter -- sort of a methodological transformation problem. Sometimes I read Marxist literature; sometimes bourgeois economics. I do not always manage to integrate the two worlds. I think that Gould was exceedingly helpful in getting me to do that better. Incidentally, Russell Jacoby visited Chico couple of weeks ago. In decrying the absence of public intellectuals, he mentioned that the one area where academics succeeded in communicating with the broader population was science writing. He mentioned Gould in particular. Why are we so bad that doing that in economics. Some years ago, Arthur Diamond a computer program that supposedly diagnoses clarity of writing to analyze the Richard T. Ely lectures. He showed a markedly downward trend. Friedman can write clearly; so can John Kenneth Galbraith. Brad de Long and Krugman are good communicators. Are other disciplines more successful than economics? [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I find it somewhat ironic that Michael should say that this theory should have in turn influenced him and others in the area of political economy. The question in my mind is why didn't Marxist philosophy have a more DIRECT influence here? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Re: Re: Cuban cows
I missed that part, probably since I was wandering about looking for a way to get my glasses fixed. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine When I visited Cuba along with Jim Devine, one of the greatest sources of pride that I recall was the milk program. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: RE: Re: Re: Cuban cows
- Original Message - From: Devine, James [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 11:53 AM Subject: [PEN-L:26138] RE: Re: Re: Cuban cows I missed that part, probably since I was wandering about looking for a way to get my glasses fixed. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine === Were the cattle larger or smaller without them? Ian
Levins Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
Louis Proyect wrote: I don't know whether Lysenko's reputation revolved around quick, technical solutions. I was under the impression that he was infamous for quackery under pressure from Stalin. Lou, you've referred off and on to Levins Lewontin, _The Dialectical Biologist_. They don't treat Lysenko at all like this. See Chapter 7, The Problem of Lysenkoism. There were many elements involved, and it was no matter of mere quackery. Carrol
Re: Levins Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
Lou, you've referred off and on to Levins Lewontin, _The Dialectical Biologist_. They don't treat Lysenko at all like this. See Chapter 7, The Problem of Lysenkoism. There were many elements involved, and it was no matter of mere quackery. Carrol Yes, of course. There is another side to Lysenko. In fact Stephen Jay Gould treats him with considerable respect in one of his essays although I can't remember the technical details. Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
Re: Spritzer wimps out
Drug Dealer Settles With Spritzer By Bon Whate Warshington Pist Stuff Writer NEW YORK, May 21--Notorious drug dealer Joe Scumbag has reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spritzer that requires the him to pay a $100 million fine and express contrition for the behavior of his gang of thugs and more formally separate his organization's cocaine synthesizers and enforcers. After weeks of sometimes slow and painful negotiations, the two sides struck the deal at 2:15 this morning that allows Scumbag to avoid civil or criminal charges. Details of the agreement will be announced at a news conference in lower Manhattan today. ... Bill
Re: Cuban cows
Fidel Castro is pushing his scientists to clone milking-cows, with the goal being to replicate a famously productive, and now deceased, Cuban bovine beast. . . . The idea, according to the paper, was to provide families with miniature milk-cows that they could keep in their apartments. The pint-sized beasts would graze on grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. I'm sorry, but it sounds as if Fidel -- or one of his advisors -- has partaken of some grass grown in drawers under fluorescent lights. The intent is good, but Lysenko's ghost is hovering near-by. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine Well, Fidel may have been smoking some of the other stuff that grows on his lovely isle, and no one would accuse him of excesses of liberal democracy, but I doubt that whatever his program involves, it involves denouncing the cow-skeptics as enemies of the people and sending them and their families to die in the Cuban gulag, as Lysenkoism did, at terrible cost to Soviet agriculture and science--maybe that is what Carrol has in mind by saying that that involved more tha mere quackery. The best studies of Lysenkosim in English are by my neughbor David Joravsky, NWU emeritus (and One Of Us), and Zhores Medvedev (in translation). There's some excellent stuff in German, but not in translation as far as I know. jks _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
RE: Re: Levins Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
LP: Yes, of course. There is another side to Lysenko. In fact Stephen Jay Gould treats him with considerable respect in one of his essays although I can't remember the technical details. if early-onset Alzheimer's hasn't kicked in yet, the problem was not Lysenko himself, who was simply updating Lamarck in a period when the alternative Darwin-Mendel theory hadn't completely taken hold, even in the U.S. The problem was that Lysenko's theory became The Party Line, a line which had state power behind it. Those who doubted, suffered. JD
Lies, damned lies, and economics
Incidentally, Russell Jacoby visited Chico couple of weeks ago. In decrying the absence of public intellectuals, he mentioned that the one area where academics succeeded in communicating with the broader population was science writing. He mentioned Gould in particular. Why are we so bad that doing that in economics. Because it's hard to communicate clearly and effectively when you're lying. Friedman can write clearly; But Friedman's popular writing isn't economics, it's standard bourgeois ideology of a rather blatant sort. I recently reread parts of Cap Freedom, same old same old. No attempt to do what Gould does, explain scientific results to the general reader. You know who's good at this in econ, aside from Galbraith (meantioned below) is Heilbroner. so can John Kenneth Galbraith. Brad de Long and Krugman are good communicators. Are other disciplines more successful than economics? Not philosophy! Of course we haven't got any results, so what do you expect. We used to have some public intellectuals, though. (Sartre, Russell, Dewey, James. Habermas--in Germany. Foucault.) Law has some pretty good popularizers--Posner, Dworkin, for example. Both literate, smart, good atcommunifcating with the general reader. jks [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I find it somewhat ironic that Michael should say that this theory should have in turn influenced him and others in the area of political economy. The question in my mind is why didn't Marxist philosophy have a more DIRECT influence here? Um, because Marxism is a theory of society? In fact the main social theory that influenced biology, inspiring both Darwin and (the socialist) Alfred Russell Wallace, is Malthus. Gould was some kind of a pinko, on the board of Rethinking Marxism, obvious left sympathies. Probably read Marx, hew had to hang out with Lewontin, after all, who is a Marxit red in tooth claw. jks _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Re: RE: Re: Levins Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
if early-onset Alzheimer's hasn't kicked in yet, the problem was not Lysenko himself, who was simply updating Lamarck in a period when the alternative Darwin-Mendel theory hadn't completely taken hold, even in the U.S. The problem was that Lysenko's theory became The Party Line, a line which had state power behind it. Those who doubted, suffered. JD This is a link for the chapter on Lysenkoism in Helen Sheehan's Marxism and the Philosophy of Science, a truly great book. http://www.comms.dcu.ie/sheehanh/lysenko.htm Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
Re: Lies, damned lies, and economics
Isn't that what lawyers are trained to do? On Tue, May 21, 2002 at 07:56:47PM +, Justin Schwartz wrote: Because it's hard to communicate clearly and effectively when you're lying. But Friedman's popular writing isn't economics, No. Can can write well in his technical articles and books. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
Justin: But Friedman's popular writing isn't economics, it's standard bourgeois ideology of a rather blatant sort. I recently reread parts of Cap Freedom, same old same old. No attempt to do what Gould does, explain scientific results to the general reader. You know who's good at this in econ, aside from Galbraith (meantioned below) is Heilbroner. Both Galbraith (the father) Heilbroner write well, but (IMHO) don't have very much to say. They look good because the economics profession is so bad. I find that Heilbroner presents a very watered-down vision of Marx, while Galbraith seems to be an updated Veblen. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: Re: Cuban cows
Cuba is at the forefront of pharmaceutical research, from what I can gather, especially considering that it is a small, poor country. I assume that they are also working with genetic engineering and cloning as well. I would appreciate learning more about this. Cuba has been especially successful in creating medicines for tropical diseases. There was also some buzz about working on an AIDs cure or vaccine. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Marxism, philosophy and biology
In a message dated 5/21/02 12:57:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I find it somewhat ironic that Michael should say that this theory should have in turn influenced him and others in the area of political economy. The question in my mind is why didn't Marxist philosophy have a more DIRECT influence here? Um, because Marxism is a theory of society? In fact the main social theory that influenced biology, inspiring both Darwin and (the socialist) Alfred Russell Wallace, is Malthus. Marxism is indeed a theory of society, and a theory of REVOLUTION (something that many modern Marxists would like to forget). But it is also more than both of these things. Marxism has long been the most introspective scientific theory, which is to say, in part, that it has been very concerned to analyze itself, to formalize, generalize and constantly reexamine the principles it has developed, and so forth. In other words, Marxism has also developed a characteristic philosophy. (For Marxists traditionally, and for me, philosophy--properly speaking--is simply the most GENERAL and ABSTRACT science.) This philosophy, in turn, has applications well beyond that of human society, and extend to nature and the world in general. It is thus no wonder that it might influence folks like Steven Jay Gould in evolutionary biology. --Scott Harrison
Operation Restoring Investor Confidence: Merrill-Spitzer Settlement
Top Financial News 05/21 16:33 Merrill, Spitzer Reach Settlement With $100 Mln Fine (Update9) By Stephen Cohen and Philip Boroff New York, May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch Co. will pay $100 million and stop giving investment bankers a say in how much analysts are paid to settle charges by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that the firm's research misled investors. The biggest securities firm by capital will create a panel to review stock rating changes and appoint someone for one year to ensure the firm lives up to the agreement. The agreement may do little to limit the conflicts of interest that led Merrill analysts to recommend shares of clients while privately disparaging the companies, some investors say. The punishment may not be as severe as people expected, said Bruce Simon, who oversees $18 billion as chief investment officer at Glenmede Trust Co. I don't think it changes the way Wall Street operates or eliminates the inherent conflict of interest. Merrill shares rose as much as 5.1 percent today. The settlement provides a template for agreements with other firms, said Spitzer, who is investigating Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Co., Citigroup Inc.'s Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. He said the agreement will help restore faith in Wall Street, which has been shaken by the collapse of the Internet and telecommunications stock bubbles. It is only through real reform that investor confidence will be restored, and this agreement provides real reform, Spitzer said a news conference. The fine is 2.4 percent of Merrill's 2001 operating profit. It's equal to a $100 million payment by CSFB, which was the fifth- largest settlement by a Wall Street firm. Led by Eric Dinallo, Spitzer's head of investor protection, the attorney general's office last year embarked on a broad probe of analyst conflicts. The investigation narrowed to Merrill's Internet group following press accounts of analyst Henry Blodget lowering his rating of Goto.com Inc. after the Internet search engine chose a Merrill rival for the lead role in a stock sale. Spitzer's probe put pressure on Securities and Exchange Commission Harvey Pitt to begin his own investigation, which he announced last month. E-Mails Spitzer, a 42-year-old Democrat who is running for re-election this year, last month cited an e-mail in which Blodget conceded that he spent 85 percent of his time in one week on banking matters. He confessed in another e-mail that there is nothing positive to say about Internet Capital Group Inc., a stock he recommended investors accumulate. Merrill will continue to pay analysts based on banking, but will take into account how the transactions analysts work on perform for Merrill clients. I see no way that (the settlement) will impact analyst compensation going forward, Komansky said at news conference at Merrill's World Financial Center headquarters. Throughout the negotiations, Spitzer insisted he wouldn't settle with Merrill without changing how analysts are paid. He contends it's a conflict for analysts to be paid to help launch an initial public offering or advise on a merger. Research analysts will continue to accompany investment bankers when they solicit business from potential clients. The analysts will have to get approval from research executives to attend such pitches. A top-ranked analyst helps securities firms win investment- banking business because companies want flattering research reports that will encourage investors to buy shares. Shares, Bonds Rise Merrill shares rose 47 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $43.85 after earlier gaining as much as 5.1 percent. Spitzer won't create a fund to compensate investors who claim they lost millions of dollars because of tainted research, leaving that to class-action lawsuits and private arbitration cases. The firm faces at least 28 class-action lawsuits from investors. Spitzer said requiring an explicit admission of wrongdoing would have been a death warrant for the firm. Merrill apologized to investors for the inappropriate communications brought to light by Spitzer, which may have appeared inconsistent with Merrill Lynch's published recommendations, the firm said in a statement. For Merrill, a $100 million fine, is, as far as I am concerned, an admission of wrongdoing, Spitzer said. Merrill said it would appoint a compliance monitor for one year to ensure the firm is keeping its part of the agreement. The monitor, who hasn't yet been named, may become a permanent position, Komansky said. The firm will also set up a system to monitor e-mail messages between its bankers and analysts. Merrill will highlight the changes, beginning tomorrow, in print advertisements in newspapers, including the New York Times. Paying States Merrill agreed to make a civil payment of $48 million to New York State and an additional $52 million to settle with all other states. Both payments are contingent on acceptance of an
cuban biotech
Cuban biotech -- threat or lesson? Anne Sunderland Monday, May 20, 2002 ACCUSATIONS that Cuba is developing bio-warfare agents and supporting the same activities in rogue states have yet to be confirmed or disproven. The following facts, however, are true: -- The Cuban biotech industry has produced original vaccines against meningitis B and hepatitis B and exports a variety of medicines and diagnostics to more than 35 countries. -- The industry has thrived, despite the near economic collapse brought on by the cessation of Soviet foreign aid in the early 1990s and the 40-year U.S trade embargo, and, -- It has become an integral part of a free public health system that is the envy of Latin America and most emerging nations. Recognizing these accomplishments, the World Health Organization held an international conference in Havana in March on biotechnology and health in the developing world. How and why has an otherwise impoverished nation made such strides? The answer may be as simple as political will. Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has made biotechnology and health care a national priority since coming to power in 1959. Castro invested $1 billion in a cluster of biotech institutes during the 1990s, despite critical shortages in Cuba of the most basic materials and goods. (At the time, the streets of Havana were filled with bicycles because there was no gasoline.) The state-subsidized biotech facilities have become a crucial arm of the free national health system. The public health needs of the country dictate what products are researched and developed. For example, the Cuban meningitis B vaccine was produced following a local epidemic in the 1970s. Overseas sales of products bring in much needed revenue (estimated at $150 million annually), but Cuban officials insist that national health -- not profits -- is the No. 1 priority. Extensive immunization programs combined with other health-care initiatives have paid off. While it is true that Cubans suffer in Third World living conditions, they enjoy First World infant mortality and life expectancy rates. The emphasis on medicine has resulted in Cuba having the highest ratio of doctors per capita in the world. However, Cuba is no utopia. Doctors make roughly $20 to $40 a month (a salary set and maintained by the state). Cuba was in the international headlines in 2000 when two Cuban doctors on a medical mission in Zimbabwe tried to defect and were promptly arrested. Still, the Cuban government's program of exporting doctors throughout Latin America and Africa stands out as a unique gesture of solidarity within the developing world. In the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, thousands of Ukrainian children were sent to Cuba for free medical treatment. Certainly Cuba, like any country, has its own moral dilemmas and contradictions. Hopefully, former President Jimmy Carter's visit shows how U.S. -Cuban relations could be based on an open exchange of ideas and information rather than rumors and accusations. We can learn an invaluable lesson from Cuba. The United States has the most sophisticated medical and biotechnological resources and facilities in the world, yet millions of Americans miss out on the benefits because they lack affordable health care. More than 10 million people die annually of infectious diseases in the developing world. Yet only 1 percent of new products brought to market between 1975 and 1997 by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries was for tropical diseases. With political will and vision, we too should be able to apply advances in biotechnology and medical science toward the creation of a healthier society for all -- rich and poor, regardless of nationality. Anne Sunderland writes about health care and biotechnology from San Francisco. In March, she attended the World Health Organization's international conference on biotechnology and health in Havana as a representative of the Institute for Global Health at -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
fiction and financial panics
I am an American Literature professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I'm currently at work on a book about American fiction and financial panics between 1880 and 1913 (a revision of my Berkeley dissertation). At the moment, I'm examining the anxieties a number of late-19th.-c American economic observers had about the economic effects of reading and writing, and I'm trying to understand the pre-history of these anxieties. I'm interested in these observers' belief that certain kinds of reading were economically salutary and certain kinds of reading were economically dangerous. Specifically, I'm interested in the role they saw certain kinds of reading and writing playing in the production (or prevention) of economic crises. David Zimmerman [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] My question: Could you point me to any comments made by 18th-century or early 19th-century economic observers in Britain or America about the economic effects of writing and reading (or certain kinds of writing and reading, or specific texts)? Do you know of any scholary discussions of the role reading and writing played in the production (or prevention) of economic crises, or any studies of 18th-c. or 19th-c. discussions of this role? I'm interested in examining in some depth why these observers thought certain types of books (fiction, for example, or certain popular pamphlets, or specific economic texts) would help provoke financial and commercial crises. Whom else might I contact for more on this? Thank you, as always, for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. Best, David Zimmerman -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: Lies, damned lies, and economics
and economics Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 13:09:04 -0700 Isn't that what lawyers are trained to do? On Tue, May 21, 2002 at 07:56:47PM +, Justin Schwartz wrote: Because it's hard to communicate clearly and effectively when you're lying. Lawyer jokes aside, no, it's not. Unlike economists, lawyers can lose their licenses and go to jail if we lie to the court or our clients. And if most lawyers don't communicate very clearly and effectively, it may be because in part they're shading the truth. The best lawyers I have seen have been painly honest and forthright. In fact they are good partly beacusethey are up front. Of course being smart doesn't hurt either. jks But Friedman's popular writing isn't economics, No. Can can write well in his technical articles and books. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Bono visits the happy natives
O'Neill Starts Africa Tour With Bono By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ACCRA, Ghana (AP) -- It's the Rocker and the Republican, on Africa Cliche-Breaking Tour 2002. Singer Bono and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill embarked Tuesday on a four-nation odyssey: the activist pop star, Bono, bent on convincing the skeptical politico, O'Neill, that Africa puts Western development aid to good use. ``I come here to learn,'' promised O'Neill, who was talked into the trip by the Irish singer. ``Normally, when we hear a secretary of state is visiting, it's usually an all suit-and-tie affair,'' President John Kufuor joked, smiling at meeting the shaggy-haired singer in trademark blue wraparound shades. Bono and O'Neill, in an equally to-type gray suit, set the tone for the 10-day trip from the first stop Tuesday -- no mud-hut village, but a gleaming high-tech center in Ghana's capital, Accra. O'Neill watched approvingly as young Ghanaian women input data for the U.S.-based firm ACS-BPS. Bono and O'Neill listened attentively as company president Tom Blodgett answered questions about the workers' pay and benefits. ``It is really an experience to see these well-trained people,'' O'Neill told an international retinue of rock 'n' roll, financial and political reporters. ``It's equal to anything you can find in the world,'' the treasury secretary said. Bono sat on a low wall, swinging his feet while O'Neill talked. The sleek high-tech operation showed it was possible to recast Africa's image, the singer told reporters. ``I really loathe the cliched, international view of Africa. I don't think it is helpful,'' Bono said. In an effort to learn what kind of aid really works, O'Neill and Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, will visit AIDS clinics, schools and projects sponsored by the World Bank and other development agencies. ``I want to hear their hopes and dreams and I hope they share with me their insights into how best to eliminate the obstacles to Africa's prosperity,'' O'Neill told the American Chamber of Commerce in Accra. Full: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Africa-ONeill-Bono.html The Evening Post (Wellington), December 17, 2001, Monday Squeezing the poorest GHANA was once hailed by the World Bank as a showcase for its policies. Today, after two decades of financial discipline, the majority of Ghanaians are worse off than ever. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence. When the experiment in neo-liberal economic theory began, it was hailed as a model pupil. But after two decades of structural adjustment, the poor are poorer and the government is more dependent than ever on outside help. It is a cash and carry society. Nothing is free. Citizens pay directly for health care, education, clean drinking water and sanitation. Shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York, BBC correspondent John Kampfner met with the World Bank's representative in Ghana, Peter Harrold, who admitted a link between poverty and terrorism. There's a serious danger. The disparities (between rich and poor) cannot continue going on in this way. There is a genuine regard in Ghana for Britain and the United States. But there is also a strong sense of injustice which is now being marshalled against Western financial institutions. Anybody who has seen the images of those terrible events would have condemned them as senseless, says Yao Graham, co-ordinator of Third World Network, an NGO based in Ghana. But we're living in a world where so many people are feeling taken for granted that unless the big powers become more sensitive to the demands of the weaker countries, all of us are endangered. Meanwhile, there is a new plan to sell off water in Ghana, a plan which local campaigners say is disastrous. As in other countries, officials in Ghana have become wary of using the word privatisation. They prefer to call it private-public partnerships. The World Bank is supporting the sell-off to the tune of $ 100 million. But why, people wonder, must water be self-financing in poor countries, while in the US, for example, billions of dollars of State money supports the industry? The unprofitable rural water supply will stay in State hands, but local communities now have to make a five-10 percent down-payment for the privilege of installing clean pumps and pay for their maintenance. In villages where people earn less than $ 1 a day, the system quickly collapses. Still, the experiment is seen by the IMF and World Bank as a template for utility sell-offs across the developing world. Elsewhere in Ghana, gold-mining concessions to international firms have forced people off arable land, with little or no compensation. For the Ghanaians, gold spells trouble and poverty. Healthcare is out of the reach of most people - patients have to pay for each visit to hospital and the cost of any surgery or treatment. They are not released if they don't pay. If they die, their bodies are not released
[Fwd: Re: Stephen Jay Gould is dead]
Original Message Subject: Re: Stephen Jay Gould is dead Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 10:53:50 -0400 From: Richard Levins [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Science for the People Discussion List[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks for the article on Stephen Jay Gould. The only thing I want to add is that Steve was a Marxist and we were colleagues at the New York Marxist School as well as at Harvard. His challenging of creationism and biological reductionism as well as his interest in the unevenness of evolution and the interpenetration of adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary change form a coherent whole coming from his political/philosophical stance. I'll miss him. Dick Levins
Gould dies at 60; Perelman alive and kicking
Michael, I think you write extremely well. I read your little book on the information age, and it got better as I read on. From you work one can learn something new...; ; I wish more economics writers would write like you ! Regards Jurriaan
RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
I admire both Galbraith and Heilbroner, but it always seemed clear to me that Heilbroner (save maybe his New Yorker articles or whatever) was writing at a more complex, deeper level (even in NYRB--articles on Schumpeter, Keynes, etc.). One may differ with, e.g., his interpretation of dialectics in Marxism: For and Against (about which he has always remarked that the most important word in the title was and), but I don't think you can say that it is 'watered down'. While it is true that Heilbroner is trying to communicate with an audience beyond professional economists or university professors, I think he does challenge the reader to put some thought into his arguments. Recently, Heilbroner has said that he thinks of himself as in the field of education, not economics, and that his favorite work of his own is his Visions of the Future, which is not really about economics, but looks at how perceptions of the future have changed through history, and how those perceptions affect the present. Mat
Is the recession about over
The Wall Street Journal offers this sign that the economy could be picking up. Do you believe it? Business Outlays Show Signs Of Picking Up After a Decline By PATRICK BARTA Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL The long-awaited rebound in capital spending could be at hand, according to a business-investment index watched by a growing number of economists. But the U.S. economic recovery still faces challenges, new data from the Conference Board and others suggest. The business-spending index, compiled by G7 Group Inc., a New York economic- and political-consulting firm, indicates that the economy's steep, five-quarter slide in business investment has likely come to an end. The group's preliminary index, which measures business investment in the second quarter, registered a minus five, a 62-point increase over the previous quarter. Any number less than minus 35 indicates contraction in investment. An index between zero and minus 35 indicates growth, but at lower levels than the historical average of 5% as measured in the U.S. Commerce Department's national income accounts. Results greater than zero indicate above-average business investment. If the index is right, it would mean that the tentative economic rebound now under way has a good shot of evolving into a strong and sustained recovery as the year progresses. So far, the recovery has been led by consumers, who keep spending despite a weak job market. Business spending, by contrast, has been a no-show. If companies don't start investing again soon, the recovery could stagnate. The question is, will [business investment] come back fast enough to prevent a recurrence of last year's recession, says former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder . He is a principal in the G7 Group and one of creators of the index, which, according to the firm, has had a good record of foreshadowing changes in business spending. The latest index reading suggests the answer is yes, yes in spades, Mr. Blinder says. But that optimism was tempered by a separate report released Monday by the Conference Board, a New York business research group. It said that its monthly index of leading indicators fell in April for the first time since September, dropping 0.4%. Composed of 10 economic indicators, the index is generally regarded as a precursor of economic activity. Five of the survey's indicators declined last month, led by falling stock prices and a contraction in the money supply. Three rose and two remained unchanged. Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein says the latest index doesn't necessarily mean business investment isn't recovering, but it does suggest the rebound could take a while to solidify. Though it is still possible the second half of the year will be stronger than the first, it's going to be a bumpy road from here to there, Mr. Goldstein says. That conclusion was consistent with another report released Monday by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an Arlington, Va., business research group. Its first-quarter report of business activity found that only eight of the 28 industries it examines had inflation-adjusted increases in new orders compared with a year ago. But that is better than the six that experienced positive growth in the previous report. Write to Patrick Barta at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Heilbroner
[was: RE: [PEN-L:26158] RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics] I find Heilbroner to present a watered-down Marxism most of the time, but his MARXISM: FOR AND AGAINST was pretty good, simply because he got away from his usual stuff. I don't agree with it as much as like the way he tries to find some good stuff in Marxism. Some of the bad stuff he finds is off-target, but it's worth discussing with students. (If I remember correctly, his discussion of dialectics comes partly from Ollman and thus isn't half bad.) To be more specific about how he waters down Marxism, he often talks Labor not existing before the rise of capitalism (e.g., THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS, 5th edition, p. 25). Though he's pretty clear that labor _did_ exist before capitalism and that he's referring to abstract labor or an impersonal, dehumanized economic entity, the whole discussion would have been much clearer if he'd used Marx's distinction between labor-power and labor: what he's saying is that labor-power didn't exist _as a commodity_. I don't insist that everything I read agree with either Marx or me, but his avoidance of basic Marxian concepts seems to encourage fuzzy thinking. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message- From: Forstater, Mathew [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 2:53 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:26158] RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics I admire both Galbraith and Heilbroner, but it always seemed clear to me that Heilbroner (save maybe his New Yorker articles or whatever) was writing at a more complex, deeper level (even in NYRB--articles on Schumpeter, Keynes, etc.). One may differ with, e.g., his interpretation of dialectics in Marxism: For and Against (about which he has always remarked that the most important word in the title was and), but I don't think you can say that it is 'watered down'. While it is true that Heilbroner is trying to communicate with an audience beyond professional economists or university professors, I think he does challenge the reader to put some thought into his arguments. Recently, Heilbroner has said that he thinks of himself as in the field of education, not economics, and that his favorite work of his own is his Visions of the Future, which is not really about economics, but looks at how perceptions of the future have changed through history, and how those perceptions affect the present. Mat
RE: Heilbroner
But Worldly Philosophers shouldn't be the standard bearer. Try the Nature and Logic of Capitalism, one of his best. His most serious scholarly work are his articles on Smith (Socialization of the Individual in AS, Paradox of Progress), Schumpeter, ideology (Economics as Ideology Economics as Universal Science, Problem of Value in the Constitution of Economic Thought, Vision and Analysis in the History of Modern Economic Thought). For an example of the importance of his voice in contemporary economics, see his review of McCloskey's Rhetoric..--What is RLH's main point?: what's missing in McCloskey's analysis is *power*. -Original Message- From: Devine, James [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 5:23 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: [PEN-L:26160] Heilbroner [was: RE: [PEN-L:26158] RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics] I find Heilbroner to present a watered-down Marxism most of the time, but his MARXISM: FOR AND AGAINST was pretty good, simply because he got away from his usual stuff. I don't agree with it as much as like the way he tries to find some good stuff in Marxism. Some of the bad stuff he finds is off-target, but it's worth discussing with students. (If I remember correctly, his discussion of dialectics comes partly from Ollman and thus isn't half bad.) To be more specific about how he waters down Marxism, he often talks Labor not existing before the rise of capitalism (e.g., THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS, 5th edition, p. 25). Though he's pretty clear that labor _did_ exist before capitalism and that he's referring to abstract labor or an impersonal, dehumanized economic entity, the whole discussion would have been much clearer if he'd used Marx's distinction between labor-power and labor: what he's saying is that labor-power didn't exist _as a commodity_. I don't insist that everything I read agree with either Marx or me, but his avoidance of basic Marxian concepts seems to encourage fuzzy thinking. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message- From: Forstater, Mathew [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 2:53 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:26158] RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics I admire both Galbraith and Heilbroner, but it always seemed clear to me that Heilbroner (save maybe his New Yorker articles or whatever) was writing at a more complex, deeper level (even in NYRB--articles on Schumpeter, Keynes, etc.). One may differ with, e.g., his interpretation of dialectics in Marxism: For and Against (about which he has always remarked that the most important word in the title was and), but I don't think you can say that it is 'watered down'. While it is true that Heilbroner is trying to communicate with an audience beyond professional economists or university professors, I think he does challenge the reader to put some thought into his arguments. Recently, Heilbroner has said that he thinks of himself as in the field of education, not economics, and that his favorite work of his own is his Visions of the Future, which is not really about economics, but looks at how perceptions of the future have changed through history, and how those perceptions affect the present. Mat
TPA and the new protectionism
[last paragraph...] Senate defeats worker benefit amendments to trade fast-track bill Tue May 21, 4:27 PM ET By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - With the White House waiting impatiently, the Senate voted down amendments Tuesday that would have complicated passage of a major trade bill, including health benefits for retired steelworkers. Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), in the Capitol for lunch with Senate Republicans, stepped in in his capacity as president of the Senate to break a 49-49 tie and defeat another worker benefit amendment, this one by Republican Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia, to provide low-interest loans to help trade-displaced workers with their mortgages. Senate supporters looked to a final vote as early as Thursday on the bill, which would give the president authority to negotiate global trade agreements subject to yes-or-no votes but no changes by Congress. Congress has denied this power to the president since 1994. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., a chief sponsor, predicted passage with as many as 70 votes for the final package, which includes new benefits for workers laid off because of foreign competition and low tariffs for four South American countries. First, the Senate must wade through several other amendments seen as possible threats to the delicate compromise reached between supporters of free trade and those intent on helping workers harmed by trade. The final product goes to negotiations with the House, which passed its version in December by one vote. The White House has threatened a veto if the final bill should include one already-approved Senate amendment, which would give Congress the power to exclude from fast-track procedures any language in trade agreements that would weaken U.S. trade protection laws. Supporters of an amendment giving health benefits to steelworkers forced to retire when their plants close due to imports fell just four short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster. The measure, sponsored by Sens. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; and Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., would have given retired steelworkers refundable tax credits to cover 70 percent of health insurance for a year. The bill already provides similar health benefits for other workers who lose their jobs because of trade. I don't know that there is a more important issue as it relates to the well-being of workers who are vulnerable, said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Sen. Don Nickles (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla., characterized such spending programs as ransom for accepting fast-track trading authority. Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), R-Iowa, co-sponsor of the package with Baucus, warned: If we want trade promotion authority to go to the president, we don't upset that very balanced compromise. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said Tuesday the fast-track bill is among several important measures languishing in the Senate. He expressed concern that the Andean nations Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador will lose low tariffs they have enjoyed the past decade if the bill does not move to the president for his signature. The Senate also was to take up a contentious measure to ensure that foreign investors don't have greater legal rights than U.S. citizens. The amendment, introduced by Sen. John Kerry (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., would change a law, part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, that he said has encouraged foreign investors to file lawsuits contesting federal and state environmental and public health laws. Under NAFTA, investors can claim that such laws, when they affect their profit margins, are the same as an expropriation of private property, for which they deserve compensation. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said foreign investors already have made claims totaling more than $1.8 billion. Kerry's amendment would ensure that trade agreements give Americans the same legal rights as foreign investors and say compensation is not required for laws that merely lower the value of private property. Sen. Phil Gramm (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said the Kerry language is opposed strongly by U.S. business groups because it could result in foreign countries reciprocating by reducing protections for U.S. investors. The NAFTA provision is an irritant in this country, he said, but eliminating it would destroy the protections we have in other countries that are a necessity.
'the buildup to build down'
[Zoellick goes pomo twice in one article...] American and EU trade officials swap jabs over steel and farm subsidies Tue May 21, 8:03 PM ET By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON - The top trade official for the United States and his counterpart from the European Union (news - web sites) swapped jabs over steel and farm subsidies, issues that threaten a trans-Atlantic trade war. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick on Tuesday defended President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s imposition of tariffs up to 30 percent on foreign steel imports to protect American steelmakers and his signing into law of a huge increase in subsidies to American farmers. Citing criticism from Europe that the moves betrayed the administration's free-trade principals, Zoellick said that it has become fashionable for European leaders to contend that the United States was veering toward protectionism. Sanctimoniousness is a posture. It is not a policy, Zoellick told a global economic forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites). In reply, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, who spoke to the conference by satellite hookup, said the only conclusion one could draw was that the steel sanctions and the big increase in farm subsidies were supported by the administration with an eye toward winning votes for Republicans in key congressional races this November. These disputes ... do not stem from the rationality of economics, Lamy said. They stem from the irrationality of politics. Lamy said the administration has defended the moves as necessary to win congressional support for the authority Bush needs to negotiate trade agreements. Legislation to that effect is pending before the Senate this week. But Lamy said the tariffs on imported steel and the big boost in farm subsidies were too high a price to pay for a Bush victory on trade promotion authority, which would allow Bush to negotiate trade deals that cannot be amended by Congress. We Europeans are not prepared to pay for TPA with steel protection, Lamy said. If TPA has a price, it must not be too high a price. Lamy said that the big increase in U.S. government subsidies to farmers in the new farm bill would make it harder for Europe to continue to reduce its own high farm subsidies. EU officials have charged that the farm bill that Bush signed into law last week violates World Trade Organization (news - web sites) rules. Zoellick said the new subsidies would keep the United States within the WTO cap of dlrs 19.1 billion annually in U.S. farm subsidies, and he noted that the 15-nation EU has a far higher WTO cap of dlrs 60 billion in annual subsidies. In some ways, it is a buildup (in U.S. subsidies) to build down, Zoellick said. American negotiators, he said, would have more leverage to win concessions on the issue from Europe in the new global round of trade talks. On the steel issue, Zoellick said the United States believed it had acted within WTO rules when it imposed the tariffs of up to 30 percent on certain categories of steel imports to provide three years of protection to the domestic industry. Europe has contended otherwise and threatens to impose its own sanctions of dlrs 345 million on American exports to Europe, starting next month, unless Bush compensates Europe for the higher steel tariffs.
Sony to build semiconductor plant in China Report
The Times of India MONDAY, MAY 20, 2002 Sony to build semiconductor plant in China: Report REUTERS TOKYO: Consumer electronics giant Sony will build a semiconductor assembly plant in China to keep up with increasing production shifts to that country by client electric equipment makers, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday. Sony is likely to build the plant at a production base in Wuxi in eastern Jiangsu Province where it already produces notebook computers, including the Vaio, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted company sources as saying. Investment is likely to be 10 billion yen ($78.10 million) and the plan will be run by Sony's subsidiary in Beijing. Semi-finished chips will be brought to the plant from Sony's plants in Japan and completed for use in digital cameras and the hit PlayStation 2 game console turned out by Sony Computer Entertainment, the newspaper said. Sony, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, has so far shifted chip-assembly operations to Thailand to cut costs and the latest decision, following a flood of Japanese firms seeking to take advantage of China's low labour costs is part of a cost-cutting drive, it said quoting the company sources. Major domestic chipmakers, including Toshiba and Hitachi have already shifted assembly operations to China. Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.
Re: TPA and the new protectionism
So, the democrats will give it to Georgie. One question. May Nathan knows. Does the Kerry ammendment mean that anybody (including US corps) can push such suits or that nobody can? If the former, it is a step backward. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
old ghosts
penner's I stumbled across this quote from Jim D. at the laborrepublic site: Chapter three ... is crystal-clear. If we'd read this chapter beforehand, the famous PEN-L debate with Gil Skillman over volume I of Capital would not have happened.-Jim Devine What year did this debate occur so I can check the archives? Ian
Re: Re: TPA and the new protectionism
- Original Message - From: michael perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 7:53 PM Subject: [PEN-L:26165] Re: TPA and the new protectionism So, the democrats will give it to Georgie. One question. May Nathan knows. Does the Kerry ammendment mean that anybody (including US corps) can push such suits or that nobody can? If the former, it is a step backward. -- == It simply shifts the burden of proof: Under the Kerry Amendment, a foreign investor would be required to demonstrate that the policy in question was enacted primarily with discriminatory intent against foreign investors or investmentsThe Kerry Amendment is based on U.S. Supreme Court rulings on expropriation in that it would guarantee that future trade agreements improve upon the NAFTA model and restrict such investment protection actions to only those cases where government action causes a physical invasion of property or the denial of all economic or productive use of that property. http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1112 It doesn't knock out the right of corps. to sue National and sub-National governments. I spoke to a fellow trade 'activist' who works very closely with one of our state legislators. The legislator relayed to my friend that her conversations with Maria Cantwell's legislative aides were rebuffed with we're beyond the Constitution now. Ian
Re: RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
I might have added Phil Mirowski as an excellent writer, although he does not usually write for an popular audience. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Re: RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
- Original Message - From: michael perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 8:20 PM Subject: [PEN-L:26168] Re: RE: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics I might have added Phil Mirowski as an excellent writer, although he does not usually write for an popular audience. -- === What does it mean to say that economists deliberately *lie* in a world where the relation of theories and evidences is one/many of underdetermination? Ian
RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
What does it mean to say that economists deliberately *lie* in a world where the relation of theories and evidences is one/many of underdetermination? Ian In my understanding underdetermination is associated with the observation that the system always finds a solution. To put this in mathematical terms, there are more variables than equations. If only we know what exactly these equations and variables are. There may be some liar economists but if one equates all economics to lies, one includes all economists in the set of liars. My conclusion from this is that it is not a good idea to equate economics to lies on a list of mostly economists, however progressive they may be. Best, Sabri
Re: RE: Lies, damned lies, and economics
From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] What does it mean to say that economists deliberately *lie* in a world where the relation of theories and evidences is one/many of underdetermination? Ian In my understanding underdetermination is associated with the observation that the system always finds a solution. To put this in mathematical terms, there are more variables than equations. If only we know what exactly these equations and variables are. == Last sentence; we can't. Second to last sentence: just think of the three body problem of celestial mechanics. First sentence; the *solutions* are always within the framing of the question[s] we pose. Nature is neither question or anwser. There may be some liar economists but if one equates all economics to lies, one includes all economists in the set of liars. == Precisely what is not 'fair' to economists or economics or political economy or.. My conclusion from this is that it is not a good idea to equate economics to lies on a list of mostly economists, however progressive they may be. Best, Sabri == The epistemic struggle with ignorance and interest[s]. Ian
RE: Re: Re: gould dies at 60
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 21 May 2002 18:42 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:26130] Re: Re: gould dies at 60 (Thus water after it is heated up gradually, suddenly begins to boil. If you're going to show this book to people who are of a pedantic disposition, you might want to find a different example. This isn't true of water, which gradually approaches boiling point along its boiling curve. Boiling is the limit of a process whereby the heat lost from evaporation increases as a liquid is heated; it's the point on the boiling curve at which the heat loss from evaporation exceeds the heat applied, if I remember O-level physics right. The freezing of water as it is gradually cooled is much more like the discontinuous process you want; supercritical liquids can freeze all in an instant. But liquids come to the boil gradually. dd ___ Email Disclaimer This communication is for the attention of the named recipient only and should not be passed on to any other person. Information relating to any company or security, is for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security. The information on which this communication is based has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice. All e-mail messages, and associated attachments, are subject to interception and monitoring for lawful business purposes. ___
