Is there an alternative term for post-autistic economics?

[aziraphale]

To my understanding, post-autistic economics is the concept that school should teach Marxism as well as typical capitalist economics in economics class. Please correct me if I am mistaken. I think this is a good concept however I find the designation of "post-autistic" very insulting as I am autistic myself and do not appreciate having my neurodivergency used a derogatory term. Are there different terms for this?

[006]

Yes, heterodox economics.

But, to be clear, its not just Marxist economics, but mainly other schools, and its not just teaching them 'side by side' but criticising modern economics from the perspectives of those other schools.

[flobdob]

It's not what either of you have described it as. The "Post-Autistic" economics movement is really largely pushed by new institutionalists and supported by a few others on the heterodox movement, but isn't about replacing the dominant neoclassical paradigm. Rather, its about fighting the particular tendency within modern neoclassical thought to reduce everything to a variety of algebra; the obsession it has with attempting to achieve mathematical rigour (at the expense of realism) is why it's called post-autistic, as a reference to the way that autistic people tend to get really deep into certain things, so too it is with abstract algebra.

[Bonobo1917]

I agree that "post-autistic" as a term for this phenomenon should be replaced. It is offensive, there is no valid reason for it. Yes, I have a form of autism as well, but that is not even the main point of my objection.
A better term? How about "non-dogmatic"? or "open-minded"? :)

[Comrade Gwydion]

slightly-holistic?

[Die Neue Zeit]

It's not what either of you have described it as. The "Post-Autistic" economics movement is really largely pushed by new institutionalists and supported by a few others on the heterodox movement, but isn't about replacing the dominant neoclassical paradigm. Rather, its about fighting the particular tendency within modern neoclassical thought to reduce everything to a variety of algebra; the obsession it has with attempting to achieve mathematical rigour (at the expense of realism) is why it's called post-autistic, as a reference to the way that autistic people tend to get really deep into certain things, so too it is with abstract algebra.

So heterodox economics is broader that post-autistic economics?

As far as I know, all schools of heterodox economics are anti-neoclassical. Of these schools, the only non-Marxist schools that should be taken seriously are Classical (Michael Hudson), Neo-Ricardian (Piero Sraffa), and Post-Keynesian (overlapping with Neo-Ricardian and including the likes of Steve Keen, Hyman Minsky, William Mitchell, Joan Robinson, and L. Randall Wray).

[flobdob]

Heterodox economics is indeed wider than simply post-autistic economics. The post-autistic economics movement has wide overlap and support from different elements of the heterodox economics movement, but the two are not identical. The term post-autistic is about a stress on the sort of extreme obsession of neoclassical econ with abstract number-juggling and statistics, and less of a consideration of the actual real world relation of the theory; the term heterodox is simply a descriptive term meaning a group of non-orthodox economic theories.

And I'm not sure why you shouldn't take Institutionalism (old or new) seriously, it's made some very important contributions to understanding capitalism.

[anticap]

I could have sworn I'd read a preemptive rebuttal to this objection on one of their sites, but I can't find it now. I didn't want to dissuade the OP from his objection to the term, but only to pass along the information.

However, what I did find is a forum discussion (http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=18920) comparing the term with the unfortunate tendency to use "gay" to express disapproval of any and everything. I can't say I disagree with that assessment.

[ZombieGrits]

Where have you guys heard of this kind of 'heterodox' economics actually being taught? The official title of my high schools economics course is "Free Market Education" :p and I just always thought that that pretty much summed up economics classes everywhere in the country...

[flobdob]

A handful of schools worldwide get to teach post-keynesian and marxian economics. Where they do it's largely in post-grad courses. For instance, scroll through the grad courses at UMass Amherst (http://www.umass.edu/economics/gradcourses.html) and there's Marxist and other heterodox stuff taught under the history of economic thought and political economy, and at SOAS (http://www.soas.ac.uk/courseunits/15PECH003.html) they have postgrad units on Marxian econ and post keynesian and marxian thought runs a general thread throughout anyway. Thats the first two off the top of my head.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Yeah, it's tucked away from the masses. :glare:

[Proletarian Ultra]

And I'm not sure why you shouldn't take Institutionalism (old or new) seriously, it's made some very important contributions to understanding capitalism.

There's some pretty cool work done in new institutionalism. Of all the near-mainstream schools it's probably most compatible with Marxism.

[BAM]

So heterodox economics is broader that post-autistic economics?

As far as I know, all schools of heterodox economics are anti-neoclassical. Of these schools, the only non-Marxist schools that should be taken seriously are Classical (Michael Hudson), Neo-Ricardian (Piero Sraffa), and Post-Keynesian (overlapping with Neo-Ricardian and including the likes of Steve Keen, Hyman Minsky, William Mitchell, Joan Robinson, and L. Randall Wray).

Be aware that heterodox economics also includes the Austrian School

[ZombieGrits]

Be aware that heterodox economics also includes the Austrian School

:scared:

Oh chill out, knowledge is power! The more you know about Austrians, the better you can demolish their horseshit of an ideology

[Die Neue Zeit]

Be aware that heterodox economics also includes the Austrian School

That's why I mentioned those three non-Marxist schools specifically.

[BAM]

:scared:

Oh chill out, knowledge is power! The more you know about Austrians, the better you can demolish their horseshit of an ideology

Yes I know, that's why I read them. Know thy enemy, etc. I don't think all of their methodology is horseshit as such. Remember you can grow sweet roses out of horse manure - though of course their politics do stink!


That's why I mentioned those three non-Marxist schools specifically.

Ah okay, it's just the three you mentioned tend to be of the Left, whereas of course the Austrians are firmly on the Right (though of course some of them get into a hissy fit when you say that!)

[Die Neue Zeit]

Classical economics... I don't know.

Michael Hudson, the ex-Marxist, has for example come out in favour of scrapping income taxes (with all their loopholes today) and replacing them with rent-based taxes (land values, broadcast spectrum, etc.) and sales taxes. The regressive nature of the latter could be offset by the (perhaps) progressive nature of the former. I'm against sales taxes of almost any kind (bar things like financial transactions) and against low-income taxation.

[BAM]

yeah, Mike Hudson ... he's definitely a leftist, a Georgist. He was Dennis Kucinich's economic advisor.

As an aside, I remember at the end of Super Imperialism he ends by ambiguously calling for a return to the gold standard.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Still, for his discovery of what "free market" originally meant back in the days of Smith and Ricardo (free from rentier privileges and what he considers neo-feudal peonage for what's going on today), he gets full credit.

[RommelDAK]

A handful of schools worldwide get to teach post-keynesian and marxian economics. Where they do it's largely in post-grad courses. For instance, scroll through the grad courses at UMass Amherst and there's Marxist and other heterodox stuff taught under the history of economic thought and political economy, and at SOAS they have postgrad units on Marxian econ and post keynesian and marxian thought runs a general thread throughout anyway. Thats the first two off the top of my head.

There is actually a directory:

Well heck, I can't post it since I apparently do not have a high enough post count to include links. Here is a work around: do a google search for heterodox economics informational directory--it will be the first hit.

I'm pretty sure Fred Lee at University of Missouri, Kansas City originally put this together (and may still be maintaining it). I am proud to say that the institution where I teach is included on the list of heterodox undergrad programs (and I really wish we had a grad program).