Reflections on the Economics Profession, the Neoliberal Conjuncture, and the Emerging Democratic Crisis: An Analysis in the Spirit of Albert O. Hirschman^*

* Paper presented on the ASE-AFEE session on ‘Democratic Crisis and the Responsibility of Economics’ at the annual ASSA conference, 5–7 January 2018; Philadelphia, PA.

Abstract

How might Albert O. Hirschman have us theorize the culpability of the economics profession in the profound anti-democratic impulses that have taken root in so many parts of the world? In my reading, Hirschman would want to hold the profession accountable for having produced the unfolding democratic crisis. He was a profound critic of the pursuit of institutional and policy coherence, such as embodied in the utopian neoliberal project, and the associated pursuit of theoretical purity. Hirschman tied grand, systemic thinking to the hubris of the economics profession. He emphasized in particular, the need for humility, patience, and recognition of the epistemic limitations of the profession and the ineluctable complexity of social systems.

Key words:

• Albert O. Hirschman
• economics profession
• neoliberalism
• democratic crisis
• illiberal turn

Acknowledgments

I thank George DeMartino for invaluable comments on work from which this paper draws; members of the audience and panel at the ASSA for constructive discussion; two anonymous referees for perceptive suggestions on the paper; and Jeff Chase, Denise Marton Menendez, Meredith Moon, Nyambe Muyunda, and Brooke Snowden for excellent research.

Notes

* Paper presented on the ASE-AFEE session on ‘Democratic Crisis and the Responsibility of Economics’ at the annual ASSA conference, 5–7 January 2018; Philadelphia, PA.

¹ Adam Smith was an early critic of social engineering.

² This paper draws on chapters 2 and 8. See Grabel (2015) for preliminary discussion.

³ On refusing to know too much, see Gibson-Graham (2006, p. 6) and DeMartino (2013).

⁴ Indeed, some countries such as China never turned to neoliberalism.