This is a long rant, and there’s no hiding that, but it is critically important. People are not aware that there is a double standard within academics – that which is taught versus that which is true. Social sciences are a method of control if not learned properly, and it is almost never learned properly.

In our culture, truth takes a backseat to political convenience. Conclusions are drawn for the public by the talking heads. Dissent is unpatriotic. Going against the grain, no matter how right you are, and how wrong they are, is looked down upon. You will be branded a heretic, a traitor, and a crackpot.

This is my story, with a focus on Austrian Economics. I live this double standard every day in class, on tests, and in conversations with my peers. I can explain Keynesian & Neoclassical economics that I am taught, but I tell the truth–the Austrian perspective–whenever I can get away with it.

The morals:
*Think for yourself.
*Do not take what you learn/are told at face value (including what I say!)
*Always question, always reason, always test
*Truth is elusive and emergent, never established and static
*Thought control is more prevalent than you think.
*Be a nerd.

Follow these things and you are my hero, and the hero of humanity.

Continue reading »

Tagged with:
 
In retrospect, there are many more reasons I could cite, but here are several major reasons that I cannot in good conscience or in sincerity complete a degree in a field that I have no interest in, seek no job for, and am morally opposed to.
Economics will always trump politics.  Politicians and technocrats think they can fix things and control the economy, but the economy will always have the last laugh.  I may severely disagree with nearly everything J.M Keynes said, but he was dead on when he said: “Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.”
Tagged with: