Guest: Eric Beinhocker

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Is Econ 101 a lie? (with Eric Beinhocker and James Kwak)

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What is “Econ 101,” and why do economists always get things wrong? In this episode we dismantle orthodox economics, exploring where it comes from, why it’s wrong, and how “It’s Econ 101!” became a cynical rallying cry in defense of the status quo. Guests Eric Beinhocker (The Origin of Wealth) and James Kwak (Economism) explain that, far from a science, Econ 101 is really just a story we tell ourselves to justify who gets what and why. And it’s time to tell a different story.nEric Beinhocker: Professor of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. Author of The Origin of Wealth.nTwitter: @ericbeinhockernJames Kwak: Professor of Law at the Connecticut School of Law. Co-founder of the economics blog “The Baseline Scenario”, a commentary on developments in the global economy, law, and public policy. Author of Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality. Columnist for The Atlantic.nTwitter: @jamesykwaknFurther reading: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/economism-and-the-minimum-wage/513155/

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Make the clean stuff cheap (with Eric Beinhocker and Doyne Farmer)

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Until very recently, the prevailing wisdom cautioned that transitioning to a clean energy economy would be extremely expensive, and therefore only possible if undertaken slowly. New research upends that thinking—when it comes to going green, the faster we go, the cheaper it will be. University of Oxford professors Eric Beinhocker and Doyne Farmer talk with Nick about a new strategy for clean technology that could transform the climate fight.

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Fair Social Contracts (with Eric Beinhocker)

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Human society is built on social contracts, but decades of neoliberalism have left many of our most fundamental contracts—worker power, social safety nets, trust in key institutions— in tatters. It’s no wonder that people are pissed off: without fairness, we can’t have cooperation, and without cooperation, we can’t have a strong economy… or a strong democracy. Can we restore the social contracts that served us so well, or has our sense of fairness been damaged beyond repair? Oxford economics professor Eric Beinhocker shares his latest research into the psychology and economics of cooperation.

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Back to Basics Series: Is Econ 101 a Lie? (with Eric Beinhocker and James Kwak)

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Trickle-downers love to pretend that “Econ 101” is a convincing argument against policies like the minimum wage that invest in working Americans. But the truth is that mainstream economists are terrible at predicting how the economy will behave in the future…Is Econ 101 broken?

In this key foundational episode for the podcast, we dismantle the myths of orthodox economics and expose Econ 101 for what it really is: not a science, but a simplistic story used to justify inequality and defend the status quo. Our guests Eric Beinhocker (The Origin of Wealth) and James Kwak (Economism) explain how outdated assumptions about markets, people, and growth have warped economic thinking—and why it’s time to write a new, better story about how the economy actually works.

Part of our Back-to-Basics summer series. Essential listening for anyone ready to move beyond trickle-down talking points and think middle-out.