False Prophets of Economics Imperialism

A powerful intellectual history of how a particular kind of economic reasoning gained dominance and came to shape not only economics but also the wider social sciences and public life... thorough and compelling... bridges history of economics, political economy, economic methodology, and history of science, appealing to audiences interested in understanding the movements and rationale of how scientific discourses are captured by particular methodologies and ideologies... Watson warns that economic imperialism reduces complex moral and political issues to technical problems, discussing how it contributes to the depoliticization of public life by silencing dissenting voices. -- Danielle Guizzo, writing in 'History of Political Economy'
The most thorough and persuasive account that exists of the origins of the cognitive authority of modern economics – and the sometimes rather tenuous claims on which that authority rests. A brilliant achievement that could really only have been written by Matthew Watson but which we can all learn from. -- Colin Hay, Professor of Political Sciences, Sciences Po, Paris
False Prophets of Economics Imperialism is a tour de force! It challenges the economics orthodoxy with sharp interrogations, multidisciplinary insights and careful and robust analysis of the history of the dismal discipline and its dominance of our academic and policy worlds today. This authoritative book should be read by anyone interested in how mathematical modelling came to rule the roost in economic thinking and policymaking, and why this should not be the case. -- Shirin Rai, Distinguished Research Professor of Politics and International Relations, SOAS, University of London
In this brilliant book, Matthew Watson reveals how economics transformed itself into the imperialist discipline that it has become today. He charts how, as economists became increasingly preoccupied with mathematical rigour, the field changed from being a study of the real economy to 'a science of choice'. Stripped of its relationship with actual economic activities, this concept of market choice could, in theory, be applied to every aspect of social life – from climate change to the history of slavery in the United States. This study demonstrates the ironic path through which economics had to make itself increasingly uneconomic in order to become the discipline that sought to treat every other field through the lens of the market. Watson’s book is essential reading for students of economic history, political economy and economic sociology who hope to understand and to challenge economics imperialism today. -- Jacqueline Best, Full Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa