Post-autistic economics

11th December 2003

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Some time ago I posted on the subject of the French students who protested against mainstream economics, denouncing it as a form of autism. Working in Australia last week with my colleague, Judy McNeill, we were very heartened to find that there now exists a burgeoning ‘post-autistic’ economics movement!

I was also fortunate enough (thanks to my colleague, Corrie Reiman) to meet Hugh Stretton while attending a conference in Adelaide. Hugh’s book, Economics: A New Introduction (of which I am a proud owner), is a masterful piece of work, and one that wins the seal of approval of the post-autistic economics movement. Sadly, however, I think it is unlikely to make too much of a dent on the mainstream paradigm as, alongside the Mankiws and McTaggarts of this world, it just ain’t ‘sexy’ enough.