So, Jagdish Bhagwati, an eminent economist, writes a piece on the myths and costs of protectionism. In the comments we get:
Professor Bhagwati is an economist, of course, and his views should therefore be taken with a very large pinch of salt.
That is, we shouldn\’t listen to an economist talking about economics because….he\’s an economist.
This is also good:
Jagdish Bhagwati has academic tenure, and therefore a job for life, with zero risk of being replaced by some academic from the third world who is prepared to do the job for a fraction of what he\’s paid.
The Good Professor of course being one of those academics from the third world.
Tim,
I have rarely seen a CiF thread in which the aricle’s author is so comeprehensively ripped a new one by the commentors. Bhagwati’s point of origin is not the issue – it is the terms of his employment at the time of writing.
Did you catch Bhagwati very subtly suggesting that Krugman is not a ‘serious scholar’? Genius.
“The Good Professor of course being one of those academics from the third world.” So in accepting tenure he’s pulling up the ladder, is he?
And he managed to do an entire interview on Newsnight tonight with his eyes shut.
http://twitpic.com/231460