How to Argue with an Economist

Abstract

This fascinating book reflects on how economics has become central to our lives, and how the 'economic rationalist' perspective has become the lens through which all matters in Australian public life are viewed. It explains how this economic worldview systematically overlooks important social issues and how it transforms Australian culture. How to Argue with an Economist invites a broad general audience into debates that were once reserved for experts. Lindy Edwards, a former economic adviser in the Prime Minister's Department, has a talent for expressing concepts simply. She distils economics' key ideas into a lively and enjoyable read, explaining how economists think and then how you can argue with them.

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“…If there is anything outside this equation, it is only the imaginary ‘invisible hand’ of Adam Smith (cf. Edwards, 2007, p. 65) that serves as a pretext for ‘de‐regulation’, in other words once again putting everything on the same level. The de‐regulation is precisely that which removes any rules, any other order, or any ‘third place’ in Lacan's terms, by which a symbolic differentiation might be effected.…”

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