Nietzsche distinguished between two forces in art: Apollonian, which represents order and reason, and Dionysian, which represents chaos and energy. An ideal work of art combines these two characteristics in a believable, relatable balance. Economists, Ward argues, have operated for too long under the assumption that their work reflects scientific, Apollonian principals when these simply do not or cannot apply: "constants" in economics stand in for variables, mathematical equations represent the simplified ideal rather than the complex reality, and the core scientific principal of replication is all but ignored. In Dionysian Economics, Ward encourages economists to reintegrate the standard rigor of the scientific method into their work while embracing the fact that their prime indicators come from notoriously chaotic and changeable human beings. Rather than emphasizing its shortfalls compared to an extremely Apollonian science, such as physics, economics can aspire to the standards of a science that accounts for considerable Dionysian variation, such as biology. The book proposes that economists get closer to their dynamic objects of study, that they avoid the temptation to wish away dynamic complexity by using simplifying assumptions, and that they recognize the desire to take risks as fundamentally human.

Ward does a superb job of efficiently summarizing the gist of his argument in three easily digestible sections. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals. (S. K. Allen, Choice, Vol. 54 (4), December, 2016)

Autorentext
Benjamin Ward taught economics at the University of California-Berkeley, USA, for over thirty years. He authored books and articles comparing welfare state capitalism with socialist and emerging economies. This is his third book on problems with economics itself; the first two dealt with the sociology and methodology of the field and with the central role of ideology in shaping the results of research.

Inhalt

PART I: ECONOMIC THEORY AS PHYSICS

1. Physics and Economics: A Theory Comparo
2. Physics and Economics: A Performance Comparo
3. Immortal Constants
4. Mitigations?
   Part I, The Gist
   PART II: BRANCHES OF ECONOMIC THEORY DIFFERENTIAL DISAPPOINTMENTS
5. General Equilibrium is Neither
6. Macroeconomics: Theorem-Seeking, Forecasting failure
7. Finance: It Works, but How?
8. Behavior the Savior?
9. Risk Aversion: The Convenience Error
10. Uncertainties and Approximations
    Part II, The Gist
    PART III: WHAT NOW?
11. Scientific Demotion
12. Human Natures
13. A List Frame for Dionysian Economics
14. Biology: Colleague or Model?
15. Subduction and Resurrection
16. The Journal of Dionysian Economics
    Dionysian Economics, The Gist