Economists serve the financial sector by muddying public debate to block political action.

Evidence

The orthodox economist cannot help but try to get his audience to simultaneously trust markets and trust economists. As we have seen, he is also inextricably woven into the financial sector. Older notions of the role of the “public intellectual” referred to someone who served to both personify and clarify positions of great import in public debate; but one of the signal contemporary postmodern developments has been the genesis and nurture of intellectuals poised and primed to muddy up the public mind and consequently foil and postpone most political action, and hence to preserve the status quo ante. This has been one of the objectives of the financial sector since the crisis, and economists are in the front lines of the disinformation project. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 623

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends the ‘thought collective’ thread — connects to the book’s earlier mapping of economist networks and their funding ties. — connects to: Fannie Mae commissioned economists across the political spectrum as lobbying ammunition — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2264; Academic economists’ private financial ties predict weaker calls for regulation — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2129; Economists’ self-denying neutrality limited their influence on popular political debate — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 125 (+7 more)
• SEED: An article contrasting the classical public intellectual (Dewey-era clarification) with the postmodern ‘profit-motivated obfuscator’ would frame how expertise flipped from enlightenment to confusion-as-service.

Broader Connections

• Economists’ ineffectual model disputes distract the public from threatening crisis explanations #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 840
• Economists publicly deny the industry ties that structure their profession. #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 566
• Economists advising on financial reform mostly hid private industry affiliations #corroborates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 577
• The economics profession’s failed self-reform serves the neoliberal project by generating noise #corroborates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 835
• Economists’ self-denying neutrality limited their influence on popular political debate #complicates (0.75) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 125
• Academic economists’ private financial ties predict weaker calls for regulation #corroborates (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2129
• Central bank funding blurs whose interests academic economists serve #qualifies (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 524
• Economists’ conflicted interests drive their advocacy of carbon markets #corroborates (0.70) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 928