A chara, – Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn wants to eliminate rote learning and foster critical thinking in the Leaving Cert. He is dead right, of course. Critical thinking is at the heart of a decent education at any level. But what to do with economics? It requires students to accept a priori a set of outrageous and non-empirical assumptions. Consequently real critical thinking in that profession is rare to non- existent. Lots of fancy maths, but no real challenges. Economists virtually all agree, for instance, that increasing taxes on rich people stifles enterprise. Empirical evidence? None. So much for critical thinking!
And of course economists were silent when Charlie McCreevy halved capital gains tax in the midst of a building boom. Sorry they weren’t silent; they cheered him on! Surely it’s time the State stopped subsidising such nonsense. Next thing will be degrees and PhDs in astrology! – Is mise,