Many thanks to Humberto for taping and sending the video of the panel discussion on Robert
Heilbroner. Having known Bob as a teacher who had the kindness to treat me also as a
friend, I had a vested interest in hearing it. Bert also wrote that comments and reactions
were welcome. The quality was fine, under the circumstances; although I had trouble
hearing some remarks due to lack of clarity in audio. So I apologize if my reaction is
based on faulty understanding of the proceedings.
   
I liked the balance in the participants' presentations. I want to add a few of my own
observations. Robert Dimand's take on the impact of The Worldly Philosophers in inspiring
students to become interested in history of economic thought also apply to Bob's long
tenure as a teacher. His courses at the New School were the reason why his students were
never going to neglect the importance of the past in their research in contemporary
issues. It was a concrete contribution to the field, sometimes obvious in the choice of
dissertation topics, but quite often in the approach his students incorporated in their
very thinking on the economy. It gave us an appreciation of the historical context and
institutional underpinnings of the economy. One of the seminars I took from him which he
co-taught with Ross Thompson was titled "Autonomy of the economy" and I remember it as one
of the most stimulating classes in which students from other disciplines also
participated. We took turns shooting down the concept of an autonomous economy. A
philosophy student from abroad wrote a fine paper actually describing economics as nothing
more than a discourse. Having invested in our work, we were not going to go along, but it
did make us think. I haven't heard this mentioned very often, but Bob had great respect
for psychology as a branch of knowledge and often made arguments in favor of economists
reaching over to enrich their discipline.
   
A theme he would constantly reiterate was his concerns as to how to reconcile the high
theory of neo-classical economics with what he called the work-a-day economics like that
practiced at places like the Brookings Institute. And though he did not subscribe to the
natural laws of demand and supply, he definitely thought them to impart regularity to the
capitalist, market economies. To him that was an important structural aspect of
economist's subject matter.
   
In response to a question about what he was as a teacher Mat mentioned Bob's
accessibility, his mild-mannered, almost humble persona and the image of a "nice guy" that
stayed with you. I would like to elaborate, if I may. Bob was definitely very soft-spoken,
but hardly tolerant of any illogic. I found him to be very personal, as opposed to
impersonal, and immensely encouraging of our intellectual endeavors. I suspect one of the
reasons for my rapport with him was that I was much older than the typical graduate
student when I joined the school. [Not that there is ever anything "typical" about the New
School students.] As Mat said, Bob's accessibility went far beyond the office hours. Here
too he was very generous, showed genuine curiosity about our work/progress and went out of
his way to be helpful in any way he could. Bob had not given much thought to feminist
economics which was understandable given his expertise, so I was forever grateful for his
reading my book chapter about gender, commenting on it and encouraging me to go further
with it. That kind of openness to diversity in scholarship can only come from a very
unique intellect like Bob's.
   
Mat also mentioned the fact that Bob freely gave out his home phone number. What needs to
be added is that he always answered the phone himself. I cannot remember a single time
when I had a chat with him and did not feel wonderfully positive after putting the phone
down. As a mentor, he was simply incomparable. As he got older and his memory started
fading, he would sometimes ask me the names of some students before entering the room.
Many years later when I met him, I could see his struggling to remember my name. That was
the most heart-breaking meeting for me.
   
Sumitra Shah