The Language of Economics Socially Constructed Vocabularies and Assu
This Palgrave Pivot demonstrates that the inherited vocabularies of economics and other social sciences contain socially constructed words and theories that bias our very understanding of history and markets, bridging the empirical and moral dimensions of
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Robert E. Mitchell
The Language of Economics
Robert E. Mitchell
The Language of Economics Socially Constructed Vocabularies and Assumptions
Robert E. Mitchell Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-33980-1 ISBN 978-3-319-33981-8 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33981-8
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016943113 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and the Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: © Melisa Hasan Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
To two remarkable, supportive, and loving friends Sylvia Sheppard Mitchell, 1930–1998, for four-plus loving decades of mutually rewarding togetherness. I owe her much. Riva Blevitzky Berkovitz, 1928–2014, a truly understanding, supportive, and wonderful late-in-life living-apart-together super-intelligent teacher and loving partner.
PREFACE
This is a book about how the language used by economists shapes their understanding of inequality, a topic attracting much recent attention by economists and others. Although economists will hopefully benefit from the following chapters, all readers should be aware that this is not an Econ 101–type text. Some academics might assign this book to the bookshelves of Philology.1 But why inequality, a term with both descriptive and moral overtones that can become confused in analyses of the phenomenon? Other authors will provide their own answers. Mine come at least in part from what I learned from others about what is fair or not. But, yes, like so many others, I strive to escape from my inherited prejudices, although I am not always successful. For example, at age 86, I am two inches shorter and 5–10 pounds heavier than I was 65 years earlier. Those are the facts of my long life, like them or not. Not all facts are likeable or fair. Children certainly complain about what is fair or not. Fairn
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