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ECONOMICS Dismal Science The Effortless Economy of Science? Philip Mirowski. viii + 463 pp. Duke University Press, 2004. $89.95 cloth, $24.95 paper.
The Effortless Economy of Science? is a compilation of Philip Mirowski's essays on economic methodology and its application to understanding the organization and output of scientific activity. Mirowski, who is Koch Professor of Economics and the History of Science at Notre Dame, is prominent within the community of "heterodox" economists, people who have challenged much of contemporary economic theory and empirical practice. He links his criticisms to the study of science by arguing that neoclassical economic reasoning-which views individuals as making purposeful decisions, based on well-specified preferences, constraints and beliefs-fails to provide a way of understanding how the enterprise of science functions. This failure in turn means that these economic models cannot address major problems facing science in modern society.
Mirowski wades into disputes among philosophers and sociologists over the extent to which the scientific enterprise leads science to evolve in ways that are consistent with such "transcendental goals" as superior explanatory power and the like. It is not surprising that he is highly disdainful of efforts to argue that the scientific research enterprise can claim a privileged status as producer of truth.
Mirowski's essays reflect an enormous breadth of knowledge and a willingness to address a wide spectrum of questions, ranging from the foundations of scientific inquiry to issues at the forefront of public policy. Unfortunately, his ambition in scope does not make up for his generally sloppy argumentation or for his frequent use of polemics instead of reasoned analysis.
Indeed, Mirowski seems incapable of engaging in debate without calling names or trying to portray prominent figures as foolish. And these characterizations are themselves silly; any author who refers to Kenneth Arrow as "politically pugnacious" is operating in a thought-space far removed from those who know the man. Frankly, Mirowski's visceral...