The History of Economics as Science Critique

Demystification and Its Limits

Bibliographic Data

ID4297617
AuthorsErik Baker (0000-0002-9837-2317, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University ([email protected]), corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume57
IssueS1
Pages45-77
Publication date2025-08-06
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory of Political Economy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2702 • E-ISSN: 1527-1919
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00182702-12134478
OpenAlexW4413007425
LanguageEN
References cited56

This article reconstructs the "science critique of economics" developed in recent decades by historians of science and science and technology studies (STS) scholars, showing that this critique is different in kind from, though not inconsistent with, the criticism of economic ideas pursued by heterodox economists. The science critique takes aim not at the truth value of what economists say but at the "scientific mystique" acquired by the discipline in the twentieth century. It demonstrates that for economists, like other scientists, being scientific does not entail access to value-neutrality or methodological infallibility. Scientific economics is structured by contingent and questionable metaphors, conceptual schemes, and paradigms; consists of conventional practices that reshape as well as reflect the world; and is engaged in struggles to secure professional prestige and authority. The article concludes by taking stock of this critique, arguing that while it can be a valuable device for challenging the excessive authority of economists in political decision-making, it risks overestimating how much the political influence of economists depends on the scientific mystique

Economics · Epistemology · Neoclassical economics · Positive economics · Social science · Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Economic Theory and Policy · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism

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