An Open Letter to Greg Mankiw by Concerned Students of Economics 10
Posted by Jeff on November 3rd, 2011
“Dear Professor Mankiw –
“Today, we are walking out of your class, Economics 10, in order to express our discontent with the bias inherent in this introductory economics course. We are deeply concerned about the way that this bias affects students, the University, and our greater society.”
It would be interesting to see how many of these Harvard students gain an interest in Marxist political economy. Mankiw, btw, is the author whose Econ textbooks are used in university classrooms all over North America.
November 4th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
It certainly would be! A promising space is opening up for students of liberal economics (such as the ones who penned the letter) to orient themselves with Marxian political-economy; however, they will need to look beyond Keynes for economic policy. Educator and economist Michael Yates recently wrote:
“In the economics classes I teach to union members, I have found that Keynes and liberal economics resonate with the students. But Marx makes them stand up and take notice. This is the only economics that cannot be coopted by the 1 percent; it is the only one they fear. We will wait forever for the liberal economists to become Marxists. In the United States, I know of only one person who moved from respected neoclassical to radical economist — John Gurley. He had the temerity to praise the economics of Mao Tse Tung, and he rejected in toto that for which he had become well known.”