Take Pity on the Economist

I tell you, amigos, it’s not easy being an economist. So many economists are always giving the discipline a bad name.

I used to cringe when people referred to me as a historian. After all, I never took a single course in a history department. But, then, I thought about it and realized that at least this incorrect description saved me from the disgrace of being called an economist.

Now that the history profession has gone more or less to hell, however, I think it’s better that I refer to myself as a member of the mainly disgraceful profession for which I was trained.

I should note, however, that even now both economics and history have some honest, competent, and decent practitioners. Not all has been lost. A remnant remains, toiling amidst the ruins.

I would be remiss, moreover, if I failed to mention that the writings of many such competent economists and historians, along with those of many other upstanding scholarly specialists, can be found in the publications—books, blogs, and the scholarly journal The Independent Review—of the Independent Institute.