Friday, March 10, 2017

Economics is Sociology Without the Human Element


This aphorism came to me in class today.

2 comments:

Mac said...

I'm not entirely certain that that is entirely correct, but there is a golden nugget of truth therein. Both economics and sociology are "soft" sciences exactly because of the human element.

However, sociology asks: "Why do people do what people do?" The sociologist tries to peer deep into the muddled human condition.

Economics, on the other hand, says "The economy will probably react in a certain way when people do A rather than B--unless it doesn't." The economist does not care why people do what they do, but she does look at at least part of the human element.

Mac said...

Oh my; "entirely" used twice in the same sentence. Arrgh. Time to return to 8th grade.