Mainstream economists defended their failure by calling crises tautologically unpredictable.

Evidence

31 “[T]his inability to predict does not concern me much. It is almost tautological that severe crises are essentially unpredictable” (Caballero, “Macroeconomics After the Crisis,” p. 85). — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2190

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: ‘unpredictability as a get-out-of-jail card’ — how a defeat was reframed as a tautological truth to immunize the profession from accountability.
• XREF: connects to: Economists actively denied the crisis, not merely failed to predict it. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2180; Mainstream economists admit failure to predict the crisis but resist overhauling the discipline — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 517; Economists defended failed prediction by asserting contradictory claims at once — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 697 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Mainstream economists admit failure to predict the crisis but resist overhauling the discipline #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 517
• Economists defended failed prediction by asserting contradictory claims at once #qualifies (0.78) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 697