As I work on the book, GardenWorld Politics, i had to take a detour into economics. Difficult.

To discuss economics independent of its context in empire, colonialism, slavery, and the shape if power is a fool’s errand. Yet that us what economics tries to do, and gets away with it. I have just read the abstracts if all the presented papers in the 2015 AEA meeting in San Francisco, and reference to political and historical is the typical minimal.
The drama of humanity will continue. The context is shifting. We know that people are happier through better relationships than more stuff, but the way we get security stresses the stuff, and security is essential for relationships. The question for us is, will economics be a party to the drama , or as it has done, prefer the security and prestige of the aesthetics of formalism? The assumption is that we should work to help make economics relevant and helpful to the struggles ahead. Perhaps rethinking economics, given the massive ongoing changes in the world, is beside the point, but here goes.