Time Lost

The only justification for any discipline in the social sciences, apart from its educational value, is whether it assists practical men and women, together with policy-makers, to understand the reality of human society. For economists, that reality is the process by which human beings attempt to satisfy their material needs and desires.1 Accordingly, the tools of analysis – the deductive theory – should not be confused with the reality that is being pursued. As will be suggested in later chapters, there is a subtle tendency, despite the protestation of some economists, for such confusion to arise. It is this tendency – a result of the short cut to success by economics – which threatens to undermine the position that the discipline has achieved. In these circumstances there is good reason for economists to pause and reflect upon what they are doing and why. It is in this spirit that the following chapters draw attention to the increasingly fragile grasp that economics has on reality, and suggest how that reality can be regained. This is meant to be an exercise of constructive criticism from within the profession. There are those from without who are determined to displace economics entirely, with a prescriptive discipline based upon the natural sciences.