Is Economics A Form Of Brain Damage?
Scientific findings counter prevailing economic theories about what motivates consumers.
Submitted by: Hazel Henderson
Posted: May 03, 2012 – 10:11 AM EST
By Hazel Henderson
The science is in and the answer is YES! I have used this phrase — “economics as a form of brain damage” — on why we need to overhaul economics and its financial and mathematical models for decades. Credit Suisse and complexity theorists at the Swiss Technical University in Zurich have also demonstrated the concentration of companies: of the 50 largest companies in the world, 45 are financial intermediaries (Read: Global Finance Lost in Cyberspace).
Science Disproves Economic Theory
Outdated economic theories, assumptions and financial models justified the current cruel austerity being imposed on citizens in Europe and the U.S. – now clearly failing. Research in physics, thermodynamics, anthropology and, recently, brain science, endocrinology and the behavioral sciences has now invalidated most economic models. Financial reforms bailed out bankers and made things worse.
Scientific knowledge of our planet’s biosphere, its climate, geology and the behavior of our human species is finally trumping economics and 18th century political ideologies. Economics is not a science – as most economists will admit. Its core tenets and “principles” are mere semantics: “capital” (too many definitions); “investment” (in what?); “wealth” (money, above other forms of wealth); “consumption” (education, social services, candy?) and so on.