Benjamin Cain
1 min readDec 21, 2021

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I think Kuhn exaggerates the incommensurability between theories or paradigms, but the larger point is valid, which is that worldviews often aren't compatible at the nonrational, phenomenological level. They're tied into different experiences, histories, and leaps of faith in sacred totems and mantras. The First World isn't immune to that nonrational side of our civilizational worldview, and regardless of their superficial rigor, economists have contributed to that hubris that's brought on the ecological crisis. I understand that some economists might have warned about that danger, but overall economists have been preoccupied with celebrating the power of free markets. That preoccupation was ideological, not strictly scientific.

Enjoy the following sources that back up the conclusion about conflicts of interest, made in that documentary:

https://academic.oup.com/cje/article/36/1/43/1716631

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/09/04/conflicts-of-interest-may-bias-research-in-finance-and-economics/

https://rabble.ca/columnists/economists-conflicts-interest-and-plea-journalists/

https://slate.com/business/2011/01/if-they-read-their-own-research-economists-might-disclose-conflicts-of-interest-more-often.html

http://triplecrisis.com/conflicts-of-interest-and-the-financial-crisis/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203436904577148940410667970

https://fortune.com/2012/02/10/for-economists-new-disclosures-same-problems/

https://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132808672/should-economists-reveal-who-pays-them

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-academics-conflicts-idUSTRE6BJ3LF20101220

https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/research-summary/fifty-shades-of-qe-conflicts-of-interest-in-economic-research/

https://www.economist.com/schumpeter/2011/01/27/conflicts-of-interest

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Benjamin Cain
Benjamin Cain

Written by Benjamin Cain

Ph.D. in philosophy / Knowledge condemns. Art redeems. / https://benjamincain.substack.com / https://ko-fi.com/benjamincain / benjamincain8@gmailDOTcom

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