The Future of HET, A Cartoon
Yesterday, I gave a lecture on the subject “History of Economic Thought and Economic Theory”. In thinking about their relation and in reflecting on the future of HET, I used this cartoon to illustrate what seems to be the current situation of our field:
(I’ve modified it slightly by adding the text “HET” in red).
Just sharing a funny cartoon…
Would you rather stay with the pirates or swim with the sharks?
Tiago
21 June 2008 at 9:31 pm
I think that’s a very good pictorial description of het, it made me laugh!
that being said, there are small (but encouraging) instances when the het community does answer back, as in the case of the Australian attempt to re-classify het outside economics as a subject. This would have influenced academic promotion and publication records so it is clear that some personal self-preservation exists, but sadly when it came to the UK government request for input on what should constitute a ‘proper’ economics course, het voices were few and far between.
Seems we may prioritise own pay over placement and significance in a curriculum… So yes, I think the cartoon is very apt.
Benjamin
22 June 2008 at 9:14 am
Maybe there is another pirate boat nearby to rescue the detractor… (with the open possibility of fighting back?)
Pedro
22 June 2008 at 2:28 pm
The question would be: who has the treasure map? Where are the gold and the mountains of pieces of eight? If the pirates have it, we should stay with them, until we can steal it!
What a great swashbuclking tale to write !
Arnold S.
23 June 2008 at 11:18 am
So funny! Even more when I remember having once heard a fellow HET warn a fellow economist about the decadence of his science with almost exactly these words…
Beatrice
26 June 2008 at 11:39 am