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Published by H-Business and EH.Net (April, 2002) 
 
Robert H. Nelson, _Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and 
Beyond_. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. 
xxvi+ 378 pp. ISNB 0-271-02095-4. 
 
Reviewed for H-BUSINESS and EH.NET by Robert D. Tollison, Department of 
Economics, University of Mississippi. <[log in to unmask]> 
 
Nelson's basic thesis is that economics is more like a religion than a 
science. In fact, he argues that economics in the twentieth century has 
virtually supplanted organized religion with a creed of material progress. 
Within economics Nelson analogizes Samuelson and company as being more like 
Roman Catholics who adhere to natural law doctrine, such as the efficacy of 
market institutions with a strong overlay of government regulation. Chicago 
economists are more like Calvinists in that they are radical 
revolutionaries in the pursuit of a more libertarian approach to economic 
life in general. 
 
The half of me that wants to like the book reflects an admiration for 
Nelson's scholarship. His thesis is new and novel; he has written a strong 
brief for it, and to say the least, he has interesting ideas. 
Stylistically, he wins me over. 
 
The other half resists the extremity of the argument. There is no doubt 
that modern economics is full of value judgments, both implicit and 
explicit, and that one must use care in separating positive from normative 
arguments. Where the argument is normative, one must be as explicit as 
possible about what the value judgments are and whether individuals are in 
general agreement with respect to these judgments. In most cases, the 
normative aspects of economic analysis are benign and easily accepted -- 
for example, more wealth or utility is better than less, material progress 
is a good thing, market institutions stimulate economic growth (this is 
also a positive prediction), and so on. Of course, there will be 
dissenters; we do not live in a Pareto - optimal world. But for the most 
part, the normative assumptions of modern economics are not controversial. 
So while Nelson is right that there is a "religious" sub-text to economics, 
I do not think it is such a big deal. Most of these value judgments are 
just common sense writ large. 
 
At times Nelson seems to deny the prospect of a value-free analysis. Here, 
I think he goes too far. Positive economics is alive and well in academia, 
and the economic paradigm of choice within constraints is being pushed 
steadily forward to new frontiers of explanation (including religion). 
There are no hidden values here; there is no sub-text. There is a simple 
desire to explain the world as it is in a more understandable way. The 
relevant question to these scholars is not how but why? Most of the work 
that Nelson discusses in the modern Chicago approach and in the New 
Institutional Economics is this type of analysis. And while understanding 
the world per se may actually lead to social change, I do not think this 
correlation is thought about or stressed very much by these analysts. Their 
focus is on understanding, not changing, the world. 
 
Still, on net, I give Nelson high marks for making an interesting and 
useful argument. It is always good to take stock of what we are about as 
professional economists. 
 
One final note is that Nelson may be right about the demise of economics in 
universities. One way to look at the issue is to note that the great 
economic debate is over. Capitalism won, so that the demand for the 
"religious" services of economists is on the wane. 
 
 
Robert D. Tollison is a co-author of a book on the medieval church and on 
mercantilism. He is a past President of the Southern Economic Association 
and the Public Choice Society. 
 
Copyright (c) 2002 by EH.NET and H-Business. All rights reserved. This work 
may be copied for non-profit educational uses if proper credit is given to 
the author and the list. For other permission, please contact the EH.NET 
administrator ([log in to unmask]; Telephone: 513-529-2850; Fax: 
513-529-3308). Published by EH.NET (April, 2002). All EH.NET reviews are 
archived at http://www.eh.net/BookReview. 
 
 
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