Many social orders, including markets and science, can be understood as instances of adaptive sys... more Many social orders, including markets and science, can be understood as instances of adaptive systems, i.e., networks of active components whose interactions implement a persistent but mutable structure which is adaptable to its environment. This general model of social structure, being neither exclusively reductionist (in that it encompasses emergent phenomena and adaptive reactions at the system level) nor exclusively holistic (in that it pays due attention to the lower-level interactions which drive the system) can serve as a fertile source of novel ideas for investigating a range of social phenomena.
We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the ... more We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the U.S.). We discuss the theoretical rationale for government funding, showing that it is open to serious question – its model of science as market is highly suspect, and its implications for the remedial effects of intervention do not stand up to even casual empirical scrutiny. Calling attention to the nakedness of the standard economic rationale, however, does not touch the very real political rationales, and it is the interaction of these with the understandably strong desire of scientists to be well-funded to which we direct attention. We describe various ways in which government funding can interact with scientists and scientific activity to produce the unanticipated effects that concern us.
The characterization of science as a “spontaneous order” was forcefully put forward by Michael Po... more The characterization of science as a “spontaneous order” was forcefully put forward by Michael Polanyi in his principled opposition to schemes for government management of science pressed in the 1930s and 40s. Polanyi insisted that scientific communities were self-governing arrangements based on tacitly held liberal traditions which would be destroyed by the application of central control. At the same time, in response to the trends toward government economic planning, F.A. Hayek was also exploring the idea of spontaneous order, but applied to the economy rather than to science. Hayek argued that the prices emergent from the interactions within the market order could not be duplicated by central planning. While Both Polanyi and Hayek employed the concept of spontaneous order to expose the unintended consequences of government control, neither put forward a fully consistent theory of spontaneous order. Polanyi not only favored prescriptive rules for science but also, in arguing that ...
Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.
Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, 2008
Entrepreneurship, Money, and Coordination begins with a single page introduction by the editor, J... more Entrepreneurship, Money, and Coordination begins with a single page introduction by the editor, Jurgen Backhaus, a well known economist now at the University of Erfurt, in which we learn that the contribution by Horst Feldmann (Hayek's theory of cultural evolution: A critique of the critiques) provided the impetus for the book's remaining six chapters, a melange of papers by Brian J. Loasby,1 Jurgen G. Backhaus, Christian Schubert, Alexander Ebner, Martin T. Bohl and Jens Holscher, and Walter W. Heering. Unfortunately, the papers assembled here do not cohere well and in some instances are not altogether “reader-friendly.” The papers by Bohl and Holscher (a six-page overview and econometric analysis of Hayek's theory of competing currencies) and Heering (on monetary theory) seem rather disconnected from the main theme of the book. Surprisingly, Backhaus’ “Introduction” does not provide a useful integrating overview of the book's subject matter and papers, something readers surely would have appreciated from so eminent a scholar.
an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions on an earlier draft. The usual caveat applies. 1 Abs... more an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions on an earlier draft. The usual caveat applies. 1 Abstract F.A. Hayek's theoretical psychology was developed in his 1952 book, The Sensory
We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the ... more We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the U.S.). We discuss the theoretical rationale for government funding, showing that it is open to serious question -its model of science as market is highly suspect, and its implications for the remedial effects of intervention do not stand up to even casual empirical scrutiny. Calling attention to the nakedness of the standard economic rationale, however, does not touch the very real political rationales, and it is the interaction of these with the understandably strong desire of scientists to be well-funded to which we direct attention. We describe various ways in which government funding can interact with scientists and scientific activity to produce the unanticipated effects that concern us.
In the social science literature spawned by Hayek's The Sensory Order, the questions asked were I... more In the social science literature spawned by Hayek's The Sensory Order, the questions asked were In what ways does Hayek's cognitive theory fit with his social theory and with Austrian Economics in general?, and (2) Do we need The Sensory Order at all to do our social science and how does it make a difference in providing insight toward understanding the social realm? We survey this literature and, by drawing out the ramifications both from Hayek's work on epistemology and psychology and the ongoing experimental investigations of individual economic behavior, we point to the possibility of a coherent new view of economic and other social systems in which individuals have realistic capabilities, where emergent effects are recognized as macro phenomena which supervene on micro activity rather than being simply reducible to it, and where systemic characteristics such as adaptation and knowledge generation are given their due.
The possible effects of funding on science are characterized, and three broad categories of effec... more The possible effects of funding on science are characterized, and three broad categories of effect are identified: those having to do with the direction followed by scientific activity, those involving the operational and financial stability of both the physical institutions integral to scientific work and the scientists themselves, and those due to distortions of the basic knowledge-generating procedures of science. It is argued that, while directional effects of funding are ubiquitous, destabilizing and distorting effects are much more likely to emerge when funding sources are concentrated than when they are decentralized. Further, when funding is accompanied by regulatory oversight, the possibilities for distortion are significantly increased. Examples of such effects actually occurring under the current U.S. funding regime are discussed.
Austrians frequently lament the absence of an Austrian undergraduate money-macro curriculum, espe... more Austrians frequently lament the absence of an Austrian undergraduate money-macro curriculum, especially at the intermediate level, This is ironic in that a large body of work currently exists, both from "the masters" and more recent researchers, that provides the essential theoretical underpinnings and historical and empirical analysis from which to mount a coherent Austrian macro course suitable for second or
Many social orders, including markets and science, can be understood as instances of adaptive sys... more Many social orders, including markets and science, can be understood as instances of adaptive systems, i.e., networks of active components whose interactions implement a persistent but mutable structure which is adaptable to its environment. This general model of social structure, being neither exclusively reductionist (in that it encompasses emergent phenomena and adaptive reactions at the system level) nor exclusively holistic (in that it pays due attention to the lower-level interactions which drive the system) can serve as a fertile source of novel ideas for investigating a range of social phenomena.
We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the ... more We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the U.S.). We discuss the theoretical rationale for government funding, showing that it is open to serious question – its model of science as market is highly suspect, and its implications for the remedial effects of intervention do not stand up to even casual empirical scrutiny. Calling attention to the nakedness of the standard economic rationale, however, does not touch the very real political rationales, and it is the interaction of these with the understandably strong desire of scientists to be well-funded to which we direct attention. We describe various ways in which government funding can interact with scientists and scientific activity to produce the unanticipated effects that concern us.
The characterization of science as a “spontaneous order” was forcefully put forward by Michael Po... more The characterization of science as a “spontaneous order” was forcefully put forward by Michael Polanyi in his principled opposition to schemes for government management of science pressed in the 1930s and 40s. Polanyi insisted that scientific communities were self-governing arrangements based on tacitly held liberal traditions which would be destroyed by the application of central control. At the same time, in response to the trends toward government economic planning, F.A. Hayek was also exploring the idea of spontaneous order, but applied to the economy rather than to science. Hayek argued that the prices emergent from the interactions within the market order could not be duplicated by central planning. While Both Polanyi and Hayek employed the concept of spontaneous order to expose the unintended consequences of government control, neither put forward a fully consistent theory of spontaneous order. Polanyi not only favored prescriptive rules for science but also, in arguing that ...
Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.
Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, 2008
Entrepreneurship, Money, and Coordination begins with a single page introduction by the editor, J... more Entrepreneurship, Money, and Coordination begins with a single page introduction by the editor, Jurgen Backhaus, a well known economist now at the University of Erfurt, in which we learn that the contribution by Horst Feldmann (Hayek's theory of cultural evolution: A critique of the critiques) provided the impetus for the book's remaining six chapters, a melange of papers by Brian J. Loasby,1 Jurgen G. Backhaus, Christian Schubert, Alexander Ebner, Martin T. Bohl and Jens Holscher, and Walter W. Heering. Unfortunately, the papers assembled here do not cohere well and in some instances are not altogether “reader-friendly.” The papers by Bohl and Holscher (a six-page overview and econometric analysis of Hayek's theory of competing currencies) and Heering (on monetary theory) seem rather disconnected from the main theme of the book. Surprisingly, Backhaus’ “Introduction” does not provide a useful integrating overview of the book's subject matter and papers, something readers surely would have appreciated from so eminent a scholar.
an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions on an earlier draft. The usual caveat applies. 1 Abs... more an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions on an earlier draft. The usual caveat applies. 1 Abstract F.A. Hayek's theoretical psychology was developed in his 1952 book, The Sensory
We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the ... more We survey the relationship between government and science (concentrating on the situation in the U.S.). We discuss the theoretical rationale for government funding, showing that it is open to serious question -its model of science as market is highly suspect, and its implications for the remedial effects of intervention do not stand up to even casual empirical scrutiny. Calling attention to the nakedness of the standard economic rationale, however, does not touch the very real political rationales, and it is the interaction of these with the understandably strong desire of scientists to be well-funded to which we direct attention. We describe various ways in which government funding can interact with scientists and scientific activity to produce the unanticipated effects that concern us.
In the social science literature spawned by Hayek's The Sensory Order, the questions asked were I... more In the social science literature spawned by Hayek's The Sensory Order, the questions asked were In what ways does Hayek's cognitive theory fit with his social theory and with Austrian Economics in general?, and (2) Do we need The Sensory Order at all to do our social science and how does it make a difference in providing insight toward understanding the social realm? We survey this literature and, by drawing out the ramifications both from Hayek's work on epistemology and psychology and the ongoing experimental investigations of individual economic behavior, we point to the possibility of a coherent new view of economic and other social systems in which individuals have realistic capabilities, where emergent effects are recognized as macro phenomena which supervene on micro activity rather than being simply reducible to it, and where systemic characteristics such as adaptation and knowledge generation are given their due.
The possible effects of funding on science are characterized, and three broad categories of effec... more The possible effects of funding on science are characterized, and three broad categories of effect are identified: those having to do with the direction followed by scientific activity, those involving the operational and financial stability of both the physical institutions integral to scientific work and the scientists themselves, and those due to distortions of the basic knowledge-generating procedures of science. It is argued that, while directional effects of funding are ubiquitous, destabilizing and distorting effects are much more likely to emerge when funding sources are concentrated than when they are decentralized. Further, when funding is accompanied by regulatory oversight, the possibilities for distortion are significantly increased. Examples of such effects actually occurring under the current U.S. funding regime are discussed.
Austrians frequently lament the absence of an Austrian undergraduate money-macro curriculum, espe... more Austrians frequently lament the absence of an Austrian undergraduate money-macro curriculum, especially at the intermediate level, This is ironic in that a large body of work currently exists, both from "the masters" and more recent researchers, that provides the essential theoretical underpinnings and historical and empirical analysis from which to mount a coherent Austrian macro course suitable for second or
Uploads
Papers by William Butos