Sowing deliberate public confusion is the core aim of economic denialism

Evidence

The purpose of denialism in both cases has been not actually to influence the relevant science over the long run—recall that most neoliberals of a Hayekian persuasion have never been terribly enamored of neoclassical economic theory—but rather to sow doubt and confusion in the general public concerning the causes and significance of the crisis in question. The mantra here, from Ezra Klein to Andrew Haldane to Gary Gorton, is that it is just all too complex to understand. If tense issues are presented in a nominally “fair and balanced” manner as rife with uncertainty, then most of the tyro public will just tune out. The deployment of agnotology is a major hallmark of the neoliberal collective, as we have repeatedly argued throughout this volume. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 941

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines agnotology as the deliberate production of ignorance and doubt, and grounds it in the neoliberal denialism playbook.
• XREF: Connects to Naomi Klein’s work on climate denialism and to Oreskes’ ‘Merchants of Doubt’ framing of manufactured uncertainty. — connects to: Manufactured doubt need not be consciously willed to paralyze economic reform — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 670; The Great Recession triggered a redoubling of deliberate ignorance production in economics — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 629; Contemporary political crises stem from denial of systemic truths more than ignorance — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 70
• SEED: Angle: the symmetry between climate denialism and financial-crisis denialism as the same agnotological machine from the same think-tank ecosystem.

Broader Connections

• Manufactured doubt need not be consciously willed to paralyze economic reform #qualifies (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 670
• The Great Recession triggered a redoubling of deliberate ignorance production in economics #exemplifies (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 629