Economical humanism.

• Author: Gillespie, Nick
• Position: Soundbite - Chatting with author Deirdre McCloskey - Interview

Deirdre McCloskey is best known as the author of a series of books--including Knowledge and Persuasion in Economics, If You're So Smart: The Narrative of Economic Expertise, and The Rhetoric of Economics (Rhetoric of the Human Sciences) -- hat analyze the language economists use to explain their dismal science. Her approach allowed her to bridge a gap between economics and literary studies, and she found herself in the rare position of being a free-market enthusiast who was admired by many left-leaning English professors. Her new book, a collection of previously published essays (many from her long stint as a columnist for the Eastern Economic Journal), is How to Be Human, Though an Economist (University of Michigan). This latest volume is, as one representative reviewer put it, "by turns wise, generous, and deep--and always beautifully written."

McCloskey is a long-time REASON contributing editor; an excerpt from Crossing, her memoir of her gender change, appeared in the December 1999 issue and is available online at reason.com/9912/fe.dm.from.html. She taught for many years at the University of Chicago and the University of lowa, and is currently Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. REASON Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie recently spoke with her by phone.

Q: Why is it so hard for economists to be human?

A: Since the days of Jeremy Bentham and David Ricardo, the central argument of economics has been that prudence--the idea that everything is about maximizing utility --is the preeminent virtue. It's certainly a virtue--it's what we try to teach our children. But the trouble is, as Adam Smith pointed out long...