Economists “Mistook Beauty, Clad in Impressive-Looking Mathematics, for Truth”

PlanglossianEconomistsCartoon2009-09-06.jpg Source of caricatures: online version of the NYT article quoted and cited below.

Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman is no friend of the free market, and more importantly, his manner of dealing with opponents is a long way from gracious civility.
But he is not always completely wrong:

(p. 36) Few economists saw our current crisis coming, . . .
. . .
(p. 37) As I see it, the economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth.

For the full commentary, see:
PAUL KRUGMAN. “How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?.” The New York Times, Magazine Section (Sun., September 2, 2009): 36-43.
(Note: ellipses added.)

DissentingEconomistsCartoon2009-09-06.jpgThe economist on the left is probably intended to resemble Keynes, but he also bears some resemblance to Hayek. Source of caricatures: online version of the NYT article quoted and cited above.

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