Bettering Humanomics: A New, and Old, Approach to Economic Science

Description

Economic historian Deirdre Nansen McCloskey has distinguished herself through her writing on the Great Enrichment and the betterment of the poor―not just materially but spiritually. In Bettering Humanomics she continues her intellectually playful yet rigorous analysis with a focus on humans rather than the institutions. Going against the grain of contemporary neo-institutional and behavioral economics which privilege observation over understanding, she asserts her vision of “humanomics,” which draws on the work of Bart Wilson, Vernon Smith, and most prominently, Adam Smith. She argues for an economics that uses a comprehensive understanding of human action beyond behaviorism.   McCloskey clearly articulates her points of contention with believers in “imperfections,” from Samuelson to Stiglitz, claiming that they have neglected scientific analysis in their haste to diagnose the ills of the system. In an engaging and erudite manner, she reaffirms the global successes of market-tested betterment and calls for empirical investigation that advances from material incentives to an awareness of the human within historical and ethical frameworks. Bettering Humanomics offers a critique of contemporary economics and a proposal for an economics as a better human science. Contents Preface Part I. The Proposal Chapter 1. Humanomics and Liberty Promise Better Economic Science Chapter 2. Adam Smith Practiced Humanomics, and So Should We Chapter 3. Economic History Illustrates the Problems with Nonhumanomics Chapter 4. An Economic Science Needs the Humanities Chapter 5. It’s Merely a Matter of Common Sense and Intellectual Free Trade Chapter 6. After All, Sweet Talk Rules a Free Economy Chapter 7. Therefore We Should Walk on Both Feet, Like Ludwig Lachmann Chapter 8. That Is, Economics Needs Theories of Human Minds beyond Behaviorism Part II. The Killer App Chapter 9. The Killer App of Humanomics Is the Evidence That the Great Enrichment Came from Ethics and Rhetoric Chapter 10. The Dignity of Liberalism Did It Chapter 11. Ideas, Not Incentives, Underlie It Chapter 12. Even as to Time and Location Chapter 13. The Word’s the Thing Part III. The Doubts Chapter 14. Doubts by Analytic Philosophers about the Killer App Are Not Persuasive Chapter 15. Nor by Sociologists or Political Philosophers Chapter 16. Nor Even by Economic Historians Notes Works Cited Index