{"id":2274,"date":"2018-07-21T12:12:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T10:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/?p=2274"},"modified":"2018-07-22T10:00:53","modified_gmt":"2018-07-22T08:00:53","slug":"neoliberal-indoctrination-economics-textbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/index.php\/neoliberal-indoctrination-economics-textbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Neoliberal Indoctrination in Economics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do text books of economics in standardized university education use elements of indoctrination? That is the question Silja Graupe, vice president of Cusanus University<\/a> and professor for Economics and Philosophy investigated. Her findings are alarming.<\/p>\n

\"Cusanus<\/a>
Prof. Dr. Silja Graupe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prof. Graupe analyzed textbooks that are used around the world, translated into over 40 languages with millions of copies sold. That fact by itself seems to me entirely absurd. In my university education none of the subjects I studied had any bible-like textbooks. Humanities, social and cultural sciences prepare students to think critically, rather than to obey knowledge as ultimate truth. Not so in economics – today’s leading “science”. The textbooks under investigation: \u201cEconomics\u201d by Paul A. Samuelson and William d. Nordhaus, \u201cEconomics\u201d by Gregor Mankiew, “Grundz\u00fcge der Mikro\u00f6konomik” by Hal R. Varian, and “Mikro\u00f6konomie” by Pindyk\/Rubinfeld.<\/p>\n

Neoliberal Indoctrination in Economics Textbooks<\/h2>\n

According to Prof. Graupe\u2019s research these books use forms of persuasion that can fundamentally and subconsciously alter students\u2019 worldviews. Needless to say: these forms of persuasion do not comply with the criteria of scientific-objective knowledge acquisition.<\/p>\n

Manipulation takes place on an emotional, intuitive level. Textbooks use examples from students\u2019 everyday life, like buying a scope of ice cream and mix them with a seemingly scientific mathematical approach to explain theories. In this setting of everyday life that involves students’ behavior (buying icecream) it becomes difficult to distinguish between ultimate truth and a theory that could be proven wrong at any time.<\/p>\n

Economics – Science or Religion?<\/h2>\n

More interesting facts: Since 1989 textbooks have not been using the term \u201cstate\u201d anymore. They rather speak of \u201cmarkets\u201d. But what exactly are markets? None of the textbooks discusses that politics today take on a role that caters to the needs of corporations and economics like a willing servant, rather than to the needs of .<\/p>\n

Still today textbooks use the term \u201cinvisible hand\u201d which was used in the 18th<\/sup> century to describe inexplicable phenomena. Adam Smith<\/p>\n

\"Alternatives<\/a>
Reshaping Economics at Evangelische Akademie Tutzing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

was probably the first to use it in the economic context in his book Wealth of Nations<\/em> (1776). It described an unobservable market force that helps the demand and supply of goods in a free market to reach equilibrium automatically. \u00a0By now, science should have advanced explanations of market mechanisms, one might think. Fact is: text books still use this mystic metaphor . And if economics is based on sets of believes rather than scientific research, to me it seems quite logical to refer to it as a religion rather than a field of science.<\/p>\n

This brief blog post by no means reflects all of Prof. Graupe\u2019s research. If you want to read more, you can find a free summary of her study on Persuasion and Propaganda in Economic Education<\/a><\/em> for download here<\/a> or watch the video interview conducted at the conference Reshaping Economics at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Video Interview with Prof. Dr. Silja Graupe<\/a><\/h2>\n

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