If you're so smart : the narrative of economic expertise

Contents (v)......Page 6 Preface (vii)......Page 8 Introduction (1)......Page 11 1. Telling Stories Economically (10)......Page 20 2. Plot and Genre in Economics (24)......Page 34 3. The Politics of Stories in Historical Economics (40)......Page 50 4. Economic Rhetoric in Aid of the Story Line (56)......Page 66 5. The Scholar's Story (70)......Page 80 6. Metaphor Against the Story: Chaos and Counterfactuals (83)......Page 93 7. The Poetics and Economics of Magic (97)......Page 107 8. The American Question: If You're So Smart Why Ain't You Rich? (111)......Page 121 9. The Limits of Criticism (123)......Page 133 10. Keeping the Company of Economists (135)......Page 145 11. The Common Weal and Economic Stories (150)......Page 160 Epigraph (163)......Page 173 Works Cited (165)......Page 174 Index (177)......Page 186 In this witty, accessible, and revealing book, McCloskey demystifies economic theory and practice to show that behind the economists claim to certainty is the ancient art of storytelling. "If You're So Smart will engage, enlighten, and empower anyone trying to evaluate the experts who stand ready to engineer our lives. "Writing with delicious wit and great seriousness."--"Publishers Weekly. "Mr. McCloskey is more interesting on an uninspired day than most of his peers can manage at their very best."--Peter Passell, "New "York Times Donald N. McCloskey is John F. Murray Professor of Economics and professor of history at the University of Iowa