Class Year
2024
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The idea of equilibrium and the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ it are questionable due to the unrealistic built-in assumptions that they utilize, which have androcentric biases and fail to consider the open-endedness of human choice. This essay will replace the idea that neoclassical economic models are effective and that realism does not matter in the field of economics. It will rely on historical and contemporary sources in the areas of Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, and of course, Economics to explain why these unrealistic and androcentric assumptions nullify the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ them. The essay will also present and reject counterarguments made against my claims by renowned neoclassical economist Milton Friedman. Research on this topic matters because neoclassical models are seen as the mainstream when it comes to the entire field of economics when a lot of their theory and their overarching reliance on mathematics are questionable.
Recommended Citation
Meyer, Robert N.
(2023)
"Intrinsic Unrealism: The Ineffectiveness of Neoclassical Economic Models,"
Gettysburg Economic Review: Vol. 12, Article 6.
Available at:
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ger/vol12/iss1/6