Robert Sturgeon wrote:

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 05:33:31 GMT, Jonathan Ball
wrote:


Robert Sturgeon wrote:

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 15:13:56 -1000, Maren Purves
wrote:



paghat wrote:


In article , Greylock
wrote:



Good science is apolitical.


If one may define economics as political,

as a physicist I have a hard time defining economics (at least the areas
you go on to describe) as science ...


Economics is a subset of psychology

Uh...no. Not even close.


Oh, not close - correct.


Economics is the study of choice under constraint.


And that isn't psychology?

No. Not in the least.

Since when???

Since Adam Smith and Jean Baptiste Say first began
thinking about it.



The
field doesn't care in the least WHY consumer preference
is what it is; preferences are taken as a given.


That people HAVE preferences, or what those preferences are?
Of course people have preferences, but they aren't
universal. "Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks."


Psychologists may wish to understand human preferences;
economists don't.


Oh, sure they do.

No, they don't.

Or else why do "liberal" econmomists and
libertarian economists not agree about the effects of high
tax rates?

They do.



An economics professor I once had told us of an alleged
contest, maybe back in the 1940s or 1950s, to define
economics in 30 words or fewer. I still remember the
definition he gave us, over 30 years ago:

Economics is the branch of learning that deals
with the social organization and process by which
the scarce means of production are directed towards
the satisfaction of human wants.


economics (èk´e-nòm´îks, ê´ke-) noun
Abbr. econ.
1. (used with a sing. verb). The social science that deals
with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods
and services and with the theory and management of economies
or economic systems.
2. (used with a sing. or pl. verb). Economic matters,
especially relevant financial considerations: "Economics are
slowly killing the family farm" (Christian Science Monitor).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation. All
rights reserved.

psychology (sì-kòl´e-jê) noun
plural psychologies
Abbr. psych., psychol.
1. The science that deals with mental processes and
behavior.

Right: nothing to do with production, distribution or
consumption.

2. The emotional and behavioral characteristics of an
individual, a group, or an activity: the psychology of war.
3. Subtle tactical action or argument used to manipulate or
influence another: He used poor psychology on his employer
when trying to make the point.
4. Philosophy. The branch of metaphysics that studies the
soul, the mind, and the relationship of life and mind to the
functions of the body.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation. All
rights reserved.

I stand by my original assertion.

You stand by an error.

Economics is OBVIOUSLY a
subset of psychology.

No, plainly it is not.

Economists are people who apply
psychology to "production, distribution, and consumption of
goods and services."

No, I'm sorry, you're wrong. See what I said earlier:
consumer preferences are accepted as a given; they
are not within the purview of economics, not in any way.