La “ciència econòmica” en l’ull de l’huracà de les crisis i de les reformes polítiques

It is claimed with ever-growing insistence that our present economic crisis is to be blamed on the discredit of politics, while technocratic rule (i.e. the rule of economists) is envisaged as a way out of the crisis. Economists cease to be advisors and take charge of power in this time of uncertainty. However, those who fostered deregulation of financial systems and unrestrained creation of new instruments cannot be said to be free from blame either, as they have brought about the present financial breakdown. Moreover, has any decision been made over the last thirty years which was not directly inspired by economic bureaus? Decisions which were often strongly permeated by ideology have been put forward as stemming from Economics – an exact, quantifiable science which stands apart from the social sciences and is likened to the natural sciences, thus being endowed by an aura of neutrality. Economists’ contempt for politicians and for Law too often conceals an unwillingness to take responsibility for a policy which has led to the present situation.