In reply to John Medaille about economics necessarily being value laden,   
my guess is that he would regard physics as value laden also. The   
question is: If economics is all value laden, then how can we economists   
ever reach an agreement about anything unless we share the same values?   
In fact, agreements have been reached by very good economists who have   
very different values.  
  
No Nobel Prize winner of physics of whom I am aware believes that all   
physics is value laden. And no Nobel Prize winner of economics of whom I   
am aware believes that economics is all value laden. Now if these bright   
people don't believe this, I say (appealing to authority, if I must)   
that I need pay no attention to those like John who have these strange   
beliefs about values.  
  
Of course, I need not appeal to authority. The epistemological basis for   
economics has been described quite well by Mises in his ULTIMATE   
FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE.  
  
Best wishes.  
  
Pat Gunning