The Demonic Social Science

If the Devil took over an academic discipline, It would probably want to ground that discipline in one of the baser emotions. It would also want this discipline to have unparalleled influence over public policy (over people's lives). Coult It find a better choice than economics? Economics is dominated by an ideology that declares all human behavior as governed by selfishness, not love, not compassion, not a collective desire for the survival of the species (not even fear, for that matter --- if economics assumed fear was the determinant then the discipline would have to look at the way fear is produced in society, which the Devil, who has a vested interest in our ignorance, would most certainly not want us to do). This ideology has become so dominant within economics, that alternatives (called heterodox economics) are largely marginalized and, in most economic departments, completely absent. Women are also largely absent from the discipline. Perhaps because of being more resistant (for cultural reasons) to accepting the selfishness-determines-everything theory of human behavior. It is interesting that a number of studies have concluded that students who study economics develop more selfish behavior patterns than those who do not study economics. The ideology may not describe the world, but it does change behavior (and therefore begins to create a context within which its worldview is correct). And if the Devil wanted It's discipline to have power over public policy, well, success is reflected in having disciples of selfishness in control of most of the institutions that shape economic relationships. When was the last time a non-economist headed the Fed? Why isn't there a Council of Anthropological Advisors? Yes, the Devil may have found It's way into the corridors of power and have established It's own homebase in academia. Clever move, no?