Skip Navigation

Socio-Economic Review 2005 3(1):161-172; doi:10.1093/SER/mwi007
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Young, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Related Collections
Right arrow A11 - Role of Economics; Role of Economists; [...]
Right arrow B21 - Microeconomics
Right arrow B24 - Socialist; Marxist
Right arrow N01 - Development of the Discipline: [...]
Right arrow Z12 - Religion
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© Oxford University Press and the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics 2005. All rights reserved.

The politics, mathematics and morality of economics: a review essay on Robert Nelson's Economics as Religion

Cristobal Young

Department of Sociology, Princeton University

Correspondence: cristo{at}Princeton.edu

Is economics a science or a theology? Nelson sensibly argues that economists are a priestly class; they issue authoritative (scientific) blessings upon the marketplace. The bishops of this class are the mathematicians, who convert ideology into "science". This essay, in contrast, argues that mathematics has more to do with internal competition between economists than with politics or religion. Indeed, in the early years, mathematical economics was dominated by socialist advocates of central planning. Over time, the mathematical school evolved towards a milder critique, emphasizing the weakness of "free market" assumptions. With an ironic twist, mathematical economics ultimately came to be interpreted as a defense of laissez faire. In short, mathematics traversed the whole political spectrum from socialism, to social democracy, to capitalism. While modern-day economists do often seem like free market evangelists, the role of mathematics in this is poorly understood.

Key Words: Mathematical economics • religion • socialism • central planning • laissez faire • sociology of economics • JEL classification: A110, B210, N010, B240, Z120


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.