Confused Confusers: How to Stop Thinking Like an Economist and Start Thinking Like a Scientist

17 Pages Posted: 28 Jan 2013 Last revised: 22 Mar 2015

See all articles by Egmont Kakarot-Handtke

Egmont Kakarot-Handtke

University of Stuttgart - Institute of Economics and Law

Date Written: January 27, 2013

Abstract

The present paper takes it as an indisputable fact that subjective-behavioral thinking leads, for deeper methodological reasons, to inconclusive filibustering about the agents’ economic conduct and therefore has to be replaced by something fundamentally different. The key argument runs as follows: (a) the subjective-behavioral approach cannot, as a matter of principle, afford a correct profit theory, (b) without a correct profit theory it is impossible to comprehend how the monetary economy works, (c) without this knowledge economic policy proposals are unjustifiable, (d) thinking like an economist may be hazardous to the economy.

Keywords: new framework of concepts, structure-centric, axiom set, objectivestructural, income, profit, distributed profit, retained profit, General Complementarity, methodological individualism, J. S. Mill, opus magnum

JEL Classification: A11, B41, D00, E00

Suggested Citation

Kakarot-Handtke, Egmont, Confused Confusers: How to Stop Thinking Like an Economist and Start Thinking Like a Scientist (January 27, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2207598 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2207598

Egmont Kakarot-Handtke (Contact Author)

University of Stuttgart - Institute of Economics and Law ( email )

Keplerstrasse 17
Stuttgart
Germany

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