Cents vs. sensibility: A duel between economics and the humanities

Economists can learn the importance of empathy and the complexity of ethical issues from thinkers in the humanities.
Updated 27 September 2017
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Cents vs. sensibility: A duel between economics and the humanities

DUBAI: The title of this book, a wonderful pun on Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” sets the tone for the playful exchange of thoughts that is to come.
“Cents and Sensibility: What Economics Can Learn from the Humanities” is a written duel between Gary Saul Morson, a professor of the arts and humanities, and Morton Schapiro, the president of Northwestern University and a professor of economics. The entertaining intellectual spat is fought in a friendly, humorous and witty way and, despite their differences, both authors tend to agree on key issues.
The back-and-forth exchange signals two important trends. The first is that the humanities are in crisis. Subjects like history, geography, literature and languages are no longer popular. Fewer students are enrolling in arts and humanities courses because they offer limited jobs. It is not so much the case that students only care for money, but that students want to study subjects that will help them find employment.
The other, rather obvious, trend is that economic reasoning dominates our lives. Media outlets rely heavily on economists to explain worldwide events and offer their views on everything, from financial meltdowns to political crises.
The authors believe that, rather than saving the humanities by dehumanizing them, economics could benefit from understanding people better. Academics in the humanities enjoy reading stories, but economists do not, according to the book. In the humanities, the authors believe that stories inspire and teach empathy while in economics, they distract from the analysis of data.
In the book, Schapiro remembers the incident that made him appreciate the importance of incorporating humanities into economics. When he was in Cairo in 1981, the Egyptian government had finally given way to the pressures of international agencies and agreed to reduce the subsidies that had kept the cost of bread well below its market price. Schapiro recalls how he sat with economists who were thrilled that the government was going to interfere less in the domestic market. It seemed to be a success story until someone mentioned the number of people who lost their lives in the riots caused by the high cost of bread and another person evoked the possibility of widespread malnutrition.
On another occasion, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank Lawrence Summers signed a memo that suggested dumping toxic waste in third-world countries with a high incidence of mortality and low wages. Although Summers went on to claim the memo was sarcastic, this 1991 incident provoked a huge debate. The minister of environment in Brazil was particularly scathing and wrote: “Your reasoning is perfectly logical but totally insane… Your thoughts provide a concrete example of the unbelievable alienation, reductionist thinking, social ruthlessness and the arrogant ignorance of many conventional economists concerning the nature of the world we live in.”
One of the supposed problems with economics, according to the book, is that its restrictive thinking often undermines its usefulness. Furthermore, can economists really predict the future more accurately than those in the humanities and therefore implement more effective policies? It is a question that remains to be answered.
There are times when a political leader must decide which policy to follow and a formula that can be calculated mathematically will simply not do. Uncertain situations require sound judgment. Scientific knowledge cannot provide an adequate solution, but wisdom can prevent us from falling into a pit, the authors opine.
Famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy explained the difference between wisdom and science in the context of the Battle of Austerlitz, depicted in his literary epic, “War and Peace.” Before the battle, most Russian generals believed that French leader Napoleon was in an impossible situation. The novel’s hero, Prince Andrei, thought he had mastered the science of warfare and was convinced that Napoleon did not have a chance and was doomed to lose. General Kutuzov did not share Prince Andrei’s high hopes, which were pinned on scientifically-based plans. Experience had taught him not to expect any certainty in a battle. Indeed, the Battle of Austerlitz turned out to be Napoleon’s greatest victory.
In recent years, “the hubristic claim that economists (or experts in some other discipline) have arrived at hard scientific knowledge, capable of successfully guiding development, has led to disaster after disaster,” the authors wrote. In his book “Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed,” author James C. Scott noted that it is difficult to understand why so many people have lost their lives because of schemes that were originally intended to improve their living conditions.
For example, in 1973, farmers and nomads in Tanzania were taken away from their homes and relocated along main roads so they could better access public services and replace traditional agricultural practices with modern practices. The result was an ecological disaster, which caused a severe famine.
“Time and time again, supposed experts backed by massive force, put into practice development plans that (do) not take into account the peculiarities of particular belief systems, the importance of local experience with conditions varying in no predictable way, the role of tacit knowledge that no one can specify but that can make all the difference and, above all, the need to proceed step-by-step to check whether one change has worked before implementing the next,” the authors wrote.
Another question often regarded as a puzzle for economists is why and how some countries develop faster than others, despite having similar levels of per capita income. In the mid-1960s, Ghana had rich reserves of natural resources, including oil and precious metals, while South Korea did not. However, 50 years later, who would have imagined that citizens in South Korea would be almost 20-times richer than those in Ghana?
According to the book, there is still no solid answer to this question, which perhaps shows that assessing issues from a purely economic standpoint may not always work.
Economics, which is suffering from its uniformity of approach, can learn the importance of empathy and the complexity of ethical issues from thinkers in the humanities.
It has also been suggested that reading great literature will help economists implement better policies, according to the book.
“If economists want to base their recommendations on a grasp of the cultures and peoples they desire to help, if they want to have a deeper sense of how economic questions like inequality actually affect human experience and if they want to take into account those aspects of experience that require narrative explanation, it may pay to study great literature” the authors state.
Literature teaches humility, a virtue that economists could benefit from, according to the book. The world today needs people who have the ability to think and communicate clearly and one great way to grow these skills and develop empathy, creativity and curiosity is through studying the arts and humanities.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’

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Updated 03 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’

  • The African Revolution demonstrates that “the Scramble” and the resulting imperial order were as much the culmination of African revolutionary dynamics as they were of European expansionism

Author: RICHARD REID

Africa’s long 19th century was a time of revolutionary ferment and cultural innovation for the continent’s states, societies, and economies.

Yet the period preceding what became known as “the Scramble for Africa” by European powers in the decades leading up to World War I has long been neglected in favor of a Western narrative of colonial rule.

The African Revolution demonstrates that “the Scramble” and the resulting imperial order were as much the culmination of African revolutionary dynamics as they were of European expansionism.

 


What We Are Reading Today: "Beautiful Ugly"

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Updated 03 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: "Beautiful Ugly"

  • Alice Feeney is a New York Times bestselling author. In addition to “Beautiful Ugly,” she has also published “Rock Paper Scissors,” “Sometimes I Lie,” and “His & Hers”

Author: Alice Feeney

“Beautiful Ugly,” released in January, is a novel by British author Alice Feeney.

The story concerns Grady Green, an author, who is on the phone to his wife while she is driving home. During their conversation, he hears the screech of brakes as she spots an object on the road ahead.

Green’s tries to prevent his wife from leaving the car to investigate the object, before she mysteriously disappears.

To cope with his depression and grief, Green travels to an island in search of solace and perhaps a way to restore his life, particularly after losing sleep and his appetite for writing.

On the island, he is shocked to encounter a woman who resembles his missing wife, and the story takes another dramatic turn.

Although the novel has been rated by more than 87,000 users on Goodreads with an average of 3.6 out of 5 stars, some readers found the pace a bit slow.

“It’s a bit of a slow-burn mystery, which I feel is difficult to pull off since it doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time,” one of the reviewers commented.

Despite being a work of fiction, another reader found the narrative unreliable and unrealistic, making it difficult to connect the events. Nevertheless, most readers appreciated the author’s writing style and imagination.

“All in all, I don’t hate the book, but there is too much melodrama and theatrical antics for a thriller. Since this is my favorite genre, I tend to be quite particular about how I like these novels to be constructed,” another reader said.

Alice Feeney is a New York Times bestselling author. In addition to “Beautiful Ugly,” she has also published “Rock Paper Scissors,” “Sometimes I Lie,” and “His & Hers.”

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Shooting an Elephant’

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Updated 02 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Shooting an Elephant’

  • While Orwell’s self-awareness is commendable, some readers may find his portrayal of the Burmese people overly passive, raising questions about perspectives that remain unheard in this narrative

Author: George Orwell

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” relates his experiences of a police officer in Burma who is called on to shoot an aggressive elephant that has broken free from its handler.

However, the essay — first published in 1936, and thought to be autobiographical — quickly turns into a searing indictment of power’s corrosive grip, with the unruly creature becoming a metaphor for the absurdity of empire.

Orwell sets the stage with quiet tension: the heat, the hostile stares of the Burmese, and the weight of his uniform. He is a man trapped — despised by those he governs, yet bound to the system he serves.

When the elephant rampages through a village, the crowd’s expectation becomes a noose around his neck. Orwell’s prose, stripped of sentiment, lays bare the hollowness of authority. He does not pull the trigger out of duty, but out of fear of appearing weak in the eyes of the villagers.

The essay’s brilliance lies in its ruthless self-exposure. Orwell refuses to cast himself as hero or even victim. Instead, he is complicit, a puppet of imperialism, forced to enact its violence in order to maintain the illusion of control.

Yet, one wonders: Does his introspection absolve him, or merely sharpen the hypocrisy? The dying elephant, gasping for air, is not just an animal, but a truth Orwell cannot escape.

Unlike traditional anti-colonial critiques that focus solely on oppression, “Shooting an Elephant” exposes the trap facing the oppressor.

Orwell’s shame is palpable, his confession unflinching. There is no redemption here, only the sickening realization that power does not liberate, but enslaves.

While Orwell’s self-awareness is commendable, some readers may find his portrayal of the Burmese people overly passive, raising questions about perspectives that remain unheard in this narrative.

The elephant falls, but the real tragedy is that no one — not the crowd, the empire, or even Orwell — walks away clean.

The bullet that kills the elephant also shatters the myth of imperial righteousness. And in that destruction, there is a terrible truth: Tyranny corrupts both the oppressed and the oppressor, leaving both bleeding in the dust.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Republics of Knowledge

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Updated 02 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Republics of Knowledge

Author: Nicola Miller

The rise of nation-states is a hallmark of the modern age, yet we are still untangling how the phenomenon unfolded across the globe. Here, Nicola Miller offers new insights into the process of nation-making through an account of 19th-century Latin America, where, she argues, the identity of nascent republics was molded through previously underappreciated means: the creation and sharing of knowledge.

Drawing evidence from Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Republics of Knowledge traces the histories of these countries from the early 1800s, as they gained independence, to their centennial celebrations in the 20th century.

Miller identifies how public exchange of ideas affected policymaking, the emergence of a collective identity, and more. She finds that instead of defining themselves through language or culture, these new nations united citizens under the promise of widespread access to modern information.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

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Updated 01 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

  • Focusing on brittle fracture and rock friction, this book will appeal to graduate and research scientists in seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics

Author: Christopher H. Scholz

A massive earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand recently. Humanitarians are struggling to deliver assistance.

Why do earthquakes happen? “The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting” offers a study on connections between fault and earthquake mechanics, including fault scaling laws, the nature of fault populations, and how these result from the processes of fault growth and interaction.

Focusing on brittle fracture and rock friction, this book will appeal to graduate and research scientists in seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics.